Minsk suggests EU should approve a list of states whose citizens are banned from flying to Belarus

<p> MINSK, Oct 21 - PrimePress. The Aviation Department of Belarus’ Ministry of Transport has voiced a proposal that in order to resolve the migration issue, the European Union (EU) may decide to adopt a list of individual states, whose citizens will be banned to travel by airlines flying to Belarus. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “To solve the migration issue, the EU may decide to adopt a list of individual states, whose citizens will be banned to travel by airlines flying to Belarus. The Department of Aviation, in turn, undertakes to publish this list for public use and implement this EU decision,” says the statement released by the Aviation Department. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Until recently, Belavia has been operating flights in the European Union for over 25 years. It is a member of IATA, and is well known. “To date, the airline has not received a single request from the EU representatives to provide information or stop operating frights to certain countries and/or carrying citizens of certain states on its flights,” said the Aviation Department. </p> <p>   </p> <p> As for the proposal to prohibit European companies to lease aircraft to Belavia, the department stated that all agreements on aircraft leasing with the EU companies, including Ireland, had been signed long before the migration crisis emerged. “Belavia’s fleet of aircraft was formed before 2020, including the supply of new aircraft in 2021, to carry out the planned program of scheduled and charter flights based on the projected demand. The airline has not taken any measures to rent planes to transport illegal migrants,” the department said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> On May 23, a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight that took off from Athens was forced to make an emergency landing in the Belarusian capital of Minsk after a reported bomb threat. A Belarus Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane into Minsk. The bomb threat came up empty after the aircraft had landed. The Belarusian authorities specified later that Roman Protasevich, wanted in Belarus as a co-founder of the Nexta Telegram channel, which the Belarusian authorities recognized as extremist, had been among the flight’s passengers. He was detained by Belarusian law enforcement agents. Following the incident, the European Union barred Belarusian air companies from operating flights to EU airports and using the European Union’s airspace, and recommended that European air carriers should avoid Belarusian airspace. In May, Ukraine also suspended air links with Belarus and closed the airspace to Belarusian aircraft. The ICAO launched an investigation into the incident, with a preliminary report due on 25 October 2021 (final report – Nov 2021). </p> <p>   </p> <p> Belavia is Belarus’ largest air carrier. Currently, due to bans on the use of Belarus airspace, Belavia operates scheduled flights to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, UAE, charter flights to Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. It has been a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since 1997 and a member of the European Regional Airlines Association (ERAA) since 2010. The company was corporatised in January 2014 and is 100% state-owned. End </p>

2021-10-22

Primepress