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As Minsk intercepted a passenger plane, the Russian authorities failed to approve new routes to avoid Belarusian airspace, and two European airlines had to cancel flights to Moscow.
Air France and Austrian Airlines seek to divert flights that normally fly over Belarus when the EU government requires their airlines Avoid the country’s airspaceThe European Union took action in response to Belarusian authorities intercepting Ryanair flight 4978 on Sunday to detain an opposition activist.
Air France and Austrian Airlines said that Russian aviation authorities have not yet approved these new routes, resulting in the cancellation of flights from Paris to Moscow on Wednesday and from Vienna to Moscow on Thursday. Air France’s flight to Russia on Friday is still waiting for permission to use a new route to avoid Belarus.
“We absolutely cannot understand Russia’s response,” Reuters quoted the Austrian Foreign Ministry as saying on Thursday.
However, several other European airlines, including cargo flights by KLM and British Airways, have been approved to use the new route to land in Russia. The Kremlin did not comment, but forwarded the inquiry to the aviation authority.
After Ryanair’s flight from Athens to Vilnius was cancelled, aviation industry insiders became increasingly concerned about the politicization of the airspace. Forced to land in Minsk Because of suspected bomb threats. After the plane landed, two of the 126 passengers, namely anti-government activist Roman Protasevich and his Russian partner, were arrested. The other three passengers stayed in Minsk.
However, according to email provider Proton Technologies, the so-called bomb threat cited by the Belarusian authorities was sent via email after the plane was redirected. “We cannot access or verify the content of the email. However… we can confirm that the problem message was sent after the plane was redirected.”
Ryanair referred to the forced landing as “aviation piracy.” The United Kingdom and the European Union urged their airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, ban the state-owned airline from entering their airports, and vowed to impose new economic sanctions on the regime. The United States requested the immediate release of Protasevich and his partner.
Russia Stand out for supporting Minsk, calling the EU’s response “hysterical.” Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko will meet in Russia on Friday.
Willie Walsh, the head of the International Air Transport Association, said that changing to commercial flights “for obvious and false reasons” is “disturbing”.
“I think there is no precedent for this. We must establish an open and unified condemnation, which is very important… to ensure that we do not see this kind of behavior again,” he said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Avoiding Belarusian airspace has increased the mileage and fuel costs of some eastbound, journeys out of Europe, but the airline still complied with the regulations. However, given the size of Russia, any problems with Russia will be more destructive.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations forum that sets standards for global civil aviation, announced late Thursday an investigation into the Ryanair incident and whether Belarus’s actions violated international air law.
Salvador Sharquitano, Chairman of the ICAO Council, said: “The Council decided that all relevant facts should be formally determined through an ICAO investigation conducted by the ICAO Secretariat.”
At the same time, EU foreign ministers held preliminary talks on punitive measures against the Belarusian regime on Thursday, and the country’s lucrative potash industry was on the agenda.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters before the informal meeting in Lisbon that the European Group will “significantly” target Belarus’ economic structure and financial transactions.
Bottrell, the head of EU foreign policy, said: “The hijacking of the plane and the detention of two passengers are totally unacceptable. We will begin to discuss the implementation of the sectoral and economic sanctions.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn (Jean Asselborn), stated that potash is a key ingredient in fertilizers and a “keyword” for potash, because Belarus is one of the world’s largest suppliers. “I think if we do something in this regard, it will cause a lot of harm to Lukashenko,” he said.
The diplomat stated that the goal of the member states is to pass the new measures at the meeting of foreign ministers on June 21.
Other reports by Max Seddon in Moscow
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