"The Krakow-bound Boeing 737-800 aircraft that departed from Dublin made an emergency landing at the BER airport on Sunday evening, soon after 20:00 [local time, 18:00 GMT]. Prior to that, the Irish airline received a phone notification and invited the pilot to land in the BER airport. After reaching an agreement with the airport, the pilot successfully landed the plane. Federal police got in contact with the pilot and after a detailed assessment decided that the situation was serious. As a result, all the 165 passengers were forced to leave the plane, their luggage was unloaded. All the passengers passed a safety check at the airport and were allowed to stay there. The airport operator was responsible for maintenance and support," the Berlin police said in a press release.
World leaders have since condemned Minsk's actions and called for a probe into the incident as it might be in violation of the international civil aviation law. In response, many international airlines suspended flights in the Belarusian airspace.
However, this is not the first time a plane has been grounded at the request of a third country's authorities. In 2013, the plane of Bolivia's then-president Evo Morales was directed by Austria to make an emergency landing at the behest of the United States, during the hunt for the former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. The whistleblower was not on board.
