Belarus: Several countries and airlines suspend flights following forced flight diversion, May 23

Event

Several airlines and some national governments have suspended flights with Belarus after Belarusian authorities forced a flight between Greece and Lithuania to divert to Minsk, May 23. As of May 25, suspensions have been imposed by the following national governments:

• Lithuania: Authorities have prohibited flights arriving and departing from Lithuanian airports from crossing Belarusian airspace effective 03:00 May 25; officials state this order will impact 26 flights per day.

• Ukraine: Authorities will implement a ban on flights between Ukrainian and Belarusian airports and will prohibit Ukrainian carriers from using Belarusian airspace effective 00:01 May 26.

• UK: Authorities have suspended the operating permit of Belavia (B2), the Belarusian flag carrier, and have requested all UK airlines to avoid using Belarusian airspace.

The European Council has called on all EU-based airlines to avoid overflight of Belarus and stated its intention to introduce a ban on the overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines, though no start date for such a measure has currently been confirmed. Nonetheless, several airlines are avoiding Belarusian airspace or have suspended overflights of Belarus, including:

• Air Baltic (BT)

• Air France (AF)

• All Nippon Airways (NH)

• Austrian Airlines (OS)

• Finnair (AY)

• Iberia (IB)

• KLM (KL)

• LOT Polish Airlines (LO)

• Lufthansa (LH)

• Scandinavian Airlines SAS (SK)

• Singapore Airlines (SQ)

• Wizz Air (W6)

Additional airlines are likely to impose similar measures to avoid Belarusian airspace in the coming days. Flight delays and cancelations are likely as a result, particularly for Belarusian airlines and services arriving or departing from Belarus. Airlines rerouting flights to avoid Belarusian airspace will likely lead to increased travel time. It is not certain how long the various national authorities or airlines intend to maintain these measures.

Context

On May 23, Belarusian authorities sent a MiG-29 fighter jet to divert Ryanair (FR) flight FR4978 between Athens, Greece, and Vilnius, Lithuania, forcing it to land in Minsk at 13:16. The diversion was carried out on the pretense of a bomb threat; however, it subsequently became evident the action was carried out to arrest dissident Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich and his partner, both passengers on the flight. Protasevich is wanted by Belarusian authorities on several charges, primarily for involvement and reporting on anti-government protests; supporters claim all charges against him are politically motivated.

The European Union and several national governments have strongly denounced the action as a violation of international air transport rules, referring to the incident as a "highjacking," and demand the release of the detained individuals as well as an urgent International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) investigation into the incident. Disruptions relating to the incident are likely to increase in the coming days as additional airlines and governments impose restrictions on flights with Belarus, particularly if the EU follows through with its plan to ban Belarusian airlines from using EU airspace.

Advice

Confirm flight bookings, particularly if scheduled to fly via Belarus or with Belarusian airlines; do not check out of accommodation until onward travel is confirmed. Anticipate possible additional travel time due to rerouted flights.