Airlines avoid Belarus airspace as EU mulls sanctions
A growing number of airlines have stopped flying through Belarusia airspace after the “hijacking” of a Ryanair flight carrying a dissident journalist.
Carriers including Lufthansa, KLM, SAS, Air France, LOT and Singapore Airlines have thus far announced they would stop flying over Belarus.
The decision to stop flying comes after the EU last night called for carriers to stop overflights, which earn the Eastern European country crucial revenues.
The EU is also working on further sanctions against the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrations after accusations of rigged elections.
And Eurocontrol, the bloc’s air traffic control agency, recommended that airlines due to fly over Belarus be re-routed via the Baltic states.
Some 400 flights use Belarusian airspace daily and 100 of these are by EU or UK carriers, according to Eurocontrol.
Sunday’s incident, which saw journalist Roman Protasevich detained, has met with outrage around the world.
The Ryanair plane, which was bound for Lithuania, was forced to land in Minsk on Sunday after Belarus claimed a bomb threat to the aircraft.
Yesterday the UK told airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, and also stripped the country’s flag carrier of its operating license.
Today Grant Shapps said that Belarus’ carriers will not be allowed in UK airspace without special authorisation.
“With immediate effect, Belarusian airlines will be prevented from entering UK airspace unless specifically authorised,” the transport secretary said on Twitter.
Boris Johnson has said that the country will face consequences as a result of its actions.