HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2021) Finnish flag carrier Finnair announced on Tuesday its decision to suspend flights over the airspace of Belarus in the wake of the Ryanair incident.
"We will discontinue using Belarus airspace until further notice. Our next affected flight is Gazipasa next Wednesday. According to Traficom's recommendation, this route will avoid Belarus airspace. The change will make flight time a bit longer," the airline tweeted.
Finnair said its decision was based on the recommendation of the national aviation authorities that airlines avoid the Belarusian airspace following the emergency landing of an Anthens-Vilnius Ryanair flight in Minsk, which led to the arrest of an opposition Belarusian journalist on board.
In France, Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari urged French airlines earlier on Tuesday not to fly above Belarus. As reported by French media, Air France has already suspended such flights. The minister also announced the suspension of Belarusian air carrier Belavia's flight permit, prompting the airline to cancel its Minsk-Paris flight scheduled for 05:25 GMT.
The Ryanair plane was on its way out of the Belarusian airspace on Sunday when it was forced to divert to Minsk over a suspected bomb threat, which later turned out to be false. Among the passengers was Roman Protasevich, the founder of a Telegram channel that Minsk designated as extremist. He was detained during the stopover at the Minsk airport and may face up to 15 years in prison.
The incident has sparked a strong backlash among journalistic and human rights organizations, as well as Western countries that are now preparing a joint response that may include the closure of the Belarusian airspace, along with new sanctions against Minsk. A number of airlines have since announced their intention to suspend operations in Belarus' airspace.
