An Austrian Airlines plane believed to be carrying Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya will avoid Belarussian airspace on its route from Tokyo to Vienna, the airline told Sputnik on Wednesday
VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th August, 2021) An Austrian Airlines plane believed to be carrying Belarusian Olympic sprinter Kristina Timanovskaya will avoid Belarussian airspace on its route from Tokyo to Vienna, the airline told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"All Lufthansa Group airlines continue to circumvent airspace of Belarus and use alternative routes," the airline representative stated.
Austrian Airlines declined to comment on whether Timanovskaya will fly to Vienna on board of their plane citing personal data protection legislation.
At the same time, the Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed to Sputnik that Timanovskaya is heading to Vienna. The plane is scheduled to arrive in the Austrian capital at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT).
The decision to bypass Belarusian airspace was taken by some airlines after Ryanair flight with an opposition journalist Roman Protasevich on board was forced to land. Protasevich was arrested and charged with organizing mass disorder.
Timanovskaya was supposed to take part in women's 100m and 200m sprints at the Tokyo Olympics. However, her coaches decided also to involve her in the 4 x 400m relay after two Belarusian athletes were found to be ineligible to compete due to insufficient drug testing. The sprinter criticized the decision on social media, as she was not ready to take part in this event.
The National Olympic Committee of Belarus said the coaching staff of the Belarusian athletics team decided to send the sprinter home due to her emotional and psychological state. Timanovskaya said the Belarusian authorities "forcibly" tried to make her return home, adding that she will seek asylum in Europe. She asked Tokyo police for help. Subsequent media reports said Poland's embassy in Tokyo issued her a visa for humanitarian reasons.
