Russia blocks European flights after they avoid Belarus

The Kremlin claims the problems were purely technical in nature and that the issue should not become an irritant in EU-Russia ties
The Ryanair plane with registration number SP-RSM, carrying opposition figure Roman Protasevich, was diverted to Minsk after an alleged bomb threat
AP

Russia blocked entry to two European airlines because they planned to get to Moscow by avoiding Belarus.

Air France and Austrian Airlines had their flight plans rejected by Russia and both had to cancel services.

It comes after the Belarus government forcibly rerouted a Ryanair jet to land in Minsk on Sunday where a dissident journalist and his girlfriend were then arrested.

Roman Protasevich, 26, and Sofia Sapega, 23, had been onboard the flight which was travelling from Greece to Lithuania.

Several airlines are avoiding Belarusian airspace in protest and the European Union has urged its airlines to do the same amid outrage over the forced landing on Sunday.

However, Lufthansa’s Austrian Airlines said on Thursday that Russia had not allowed its flight from Vienna to Moscow to land in the Russian capital without flying through Belarusian airspace.

Two Austrian Airlines flights were grounded, including a cargo plane travelling from China to Vienna and a passenger plane headed to Moscow from Vienna.

Air France said that a flight from Paris to Moscow was cancelled on Thursday for “operational reasons linked to the bypassing of Belarusian airspace requiring a new authorization from the Russian authorities”.

Sofia Sapega
Telegram

Russia is a strong ally of Belarus and has continued its support of the former soviet nation and its government.

Flights avoiding Belarus airspace directly impacts the country’s revenue because airlines pay to use it, amounting to millions of dollars each year.

BELARUS-OPPOSITION-POLITICS-AVIATION
Roman Protasevich
TELEGRAM CHANNEL NEVOLF/AFP via

The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia was working to resolve what it called technical issues thrown up by a decision by some European airlines to skirt Belarusian airspace when flying to and from Russia.

It did allow an Austrian Airlines Vienna-Moscow flight to bypass Belarusian airspace on Friday, according to TASS news agency, and permitted entry to other foreign carriers on Thursday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the problems were purely technical in nature and that the issue should not become an irritant in EU-Russia ties.

Meanwhile, the European airspace ban has forced Belarusian carrier Belavia to cancel 12 of its routes until 30 October, according to Reuters news agency.

Affected routes include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hanover, Kaliningrad, Milan, Munich, Rome, Vienna and Warsaw.

Austria's foreign ministry said Russia's actions were "absolutely incomprehensible".

It told AFP news agency that the principle of reciprocity “must be respected".

Russia's federal aviation agency Rosaviatsiya has told airlines that changes to routes from Europe to Russia due to the political row over Belarus may result in longer clearance times due to more such requests.

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