The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended that EU air carriers and non-EU airlines avoid Belarusian airspace, Western media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing the EASA.
Non-EU airlines authorized by the EASA when conducting operations to, from, and within the EU are advised to avoid operating in Belarusian airspace, it said.
The agency cited safety reasons following the May 23 Ryanair flight incident, which called into question the ability of the Belarusian authorities to provide safe air navigation services.
A Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius was forced to land at the Minsk airport while passing through Belarus’s airspace on May 23. It was reported that the plane landed after the Belarusian security services were warned of a bomb threat. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered that a MiG-29 fighter jet be scrambled to shadow the passenger plane, which was carrying Roman Pratasevich, editor of the Telegram channel Belarus Golovnogo Mozga (Belarus of the Brain) and former editor of the Telegram channel Nexta, both designated as extremist in Belarus, and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen and student of the European Humanities University based in Vilnius. The Belarusian authorities have detained both of them.
In connection with the situation in Belarus, Ukraine is ready to provide states and private companies with its airspace for reorganizing air routes, the press service of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine said, with reference to minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. “The events in Belarus have become an international precedent. Our priority is the safety of passengers and aviation. The primary task is the prompt organization of all events in strict accordance with international and national legislation. Ukraine is ready, on its part, to provide maximum support to states and private companies in the process of restructuring routes through our airspace,” Kubrakov said.
As reported, Ukraine stops air traffic with Belarus from May 26. The corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on May 25.
Earlier on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Ukrainian government to prepare a decision on the termination of flights between Ukraine and Belarus in connection with the events that took place at Minsk airport on May 23.
Traffic in the airspace of Ukraine in August fell by 56.3% compared to August 2019, the press service of the Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise (UkSATSE) has reported.
In general, last month UkSATSE serviced 16,690 flights, of which 2,519 were domestic (a decrease in the number by 15.7% compared to August 2019), 8,249 were international (50.4% less), and 5,922 were transit (68.2% less).
Ukrainian airlines performed 6,373 flights (45.5% less than in August last year), foreign airlines some 10,317 flights (61.1% less).
As reported, traffic in the airspace of Ukraine in July fell by 68.3% compared to July 2019, UkSATSE serviced 12,195 flights.
