Two airlines cancel flights to Moscow while EU discusses Belarusian sanctions

Two European airlines had to cancel flights to Moscow because Russian authorities refused to allow new routes to avoid Belarusian airspace when Minsk intercepted a passenger plane.

Air France and Austrian Airlines wanted to direct flights that would normally fly over Belarus when requested by EU governments. avoid the country’s airspace. The EU was acting when Belarusian authorities intercepted Ryanair flight 4978 to arrest an opposition activist on Sunday.

Air France and Austrian Airlines said Russian airline authorities have not approved the new routes, and canceled flights from Paris to Moscow on Wednesday and Vienna to Moscow on Thursday. On Friday an Air France flight was waiting for permission to use a new route to avoid Belarus to go to Russia.

“Russia’s reaction is completely incomprehensible to us,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry told Reuters on Thursday.

Several other European carriers, including KLM and British Airways, have been allowed to land in Russia, however, using new routes. The Kremlin did not comment and forwarded inquiries to the aircraft authorities.

Information from the airline industry is concerned about the politicization of airspace after Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius Forced to land in Minsk due to the alleged bomb threat. Two of the 126 passengers, an anti-regime activist Roman Protasevich and his Russian partner, were arrested after the plane landed. Three other passengers were left behind in Minsk.

However, the alleged bomb threat mentioned by the Belarusian authorities was sent by e-mail after the plane was diverted, according to e-mail provider Proton Technologies. “We cannot enter or verify the content of the message. However… We can confirm that the said message was sent after the aircraft was redirected,” the company said.

Ryanair has said the forced landing is “aviation piracy” and the UK and EU have called on their companies to avoid the Belarusian airspace, have banned state-owned carriers from their airports and vowed to impose new economic sanctions on the regime. The US has called for the immediate release of Protasevich and his partner.

Russia has been highlighted in favor of Minsk, saying the EU’s reaction is “hysterical”. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will meet in Russia on Friday.

Willie Walsh, head of the International Air Transport Association, said it was “worrying” to see a commercial flight diverted for “clearly false” purposes.

“I would like to think that this does not create a precedent. It is important to rely on public and unified condemnation. . . to make sure we don’t repeat that behavior, ”he told reporters on Wednesday.

By avoiding Belarusian airspace, some passengers traveling from eastern Europe are adding miles and fuel costs, the companies agreed. However, the problems with Russia would be more damaging, given its size.

The International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN forum that sets standards for civil aviation around the world, announced an investigation into the Ryanair incident late Thursday and whether Belarus’s actions violated international aviation law.

Salvatore Sciacchitano, President of the ICAO Council, said: “The Council has decided that all important events should be officially established through an ICAO investigation conducted by the ICAO Secretariat.”

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers held initial talks on Thursday on sanctions measures against the Belarusian regime, with the country’s profitable potassium sector dominating the agenda.

The European bloc will focus on Belarus’ economic structure and financial transactions “in a significant way,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters ahead of the informal meeting in Lisbon.

“The hijacking of the plane and the arrest of two passengers are completely unacceptable, and we will begin to discuss the imposition of sectoral and economic sanctions,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s foreign minister, said potash – a key ingredient in fertilizers – is “the key word” because Belarus is one of the world’s largest suppliers. “I think it would do a lot of damage to Lukashenko if we managed something in this area,” Asselborn said.

Member States are set to adopt new measures at a meeting of foreign ministers on June 21, diplomats say.

Additional report by Max Seddon in Moscow