Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and France, among others, complied with the European Union’s request for Belavia to boycott, after which the company was forced to cancel flights from Minsk National Airport. Belavia is no longer welcome in the UK either. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management informed this website that the European Union should first act on the boycott of Belarus and take precise measures against it. Depending on this detail, it will be determined whether Belavia will be banned from Schiphol.
The flight ban that should be imposed on Belavia, according to the Council of Europe, is a direct result of the state’s hijacking of Ryanair’s flight FR4978, last Sunday, when Belarusian opposition blogger Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend were taken from Minsk and believed to be arrested on the spot. The flight was on its way from Athens to Vilnius.
Although KLM initially wanted to continue flying over Belarus, this plan was hastily canceled when outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte urged not to do so. On Monday evening, the European Union advised all airlines to avoid skies over the authoritarian state.
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