Belarus has implemented a ban on the landing of any aircraft entering from European Union airspace unless they have special authorisation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, overflights are not affected by this decision.
Belarus has also prohibited its own aircraft from entering the airspace of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, its neighbouring countries in the European Union.
This decision, which took effect on December 3, 2023, is aimed at protecting national interests, and it affects a limited number of flights since Belarusian airlines have already been banned from entering the EU since December 2021. This ban was imposed following the forced diversion of a Ryanair B737 by Belarus authorities and escalated tensions between Belarus, the EU, and Russia after Belarus supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As a result, there is currently no airline traffic between the EU and Russia/Belarus.
In May 2021, while in Belarusian airspace, a FRyanair flights was diverted by the Belarusian government to Minsk National Airport due to alleged claims of Hamas’s bombing attempt, where two of its passengers, opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, were arrested by authorities.
