The EU sanctions against the Belarusian aviation industry in general and Belavia in particular are a “raider seizure” of the market and business, said Artem Sikorsky, director of the aviation department of the Ministry of Transport of Belarus.
In his opinion, the policy of restrictions undertaken by the EU against the official Minsk shows that “the process of strangling” the republic is underway.
“These sanctions, let’s face it, are a raider seizure of the market and business of the airline (Belavia, – ed.), which did not participate in these events at all. And those measures against Belaeronavigatsia (air navigation services enterprise, – ed.). The dispatcher was not supposed to react according to the law, wasn’t it? The aviation security specialists were not supposed to react?” – quotes the words of Sikorsky RIA Novosti.
From June 5, Belarusian airlines are prohibited from using the airspace and airports of the EU member states, except for humanitarian flights, as well as emergency landings and emergency flights.
Following the summit on May 24, the heads of state of the EU recommended that European air carriers avoid flights over the territory of Belarus after the incident with the emergency landing of a flight of the Irish company Ryanair in Minsk on 23 May. They also called for the closure of the EU airspace for Belarusian airlines.
After an emergency landing, it turned out that on board the liner was Roman Protasevich, declared by Belarus on the interstate wanted list, the founder of the Nexta Telegram channel and the chief editor of the Belarus Brain Telegram channel, recognized as extremist in the republic. He was detained at the Minsk airport.
The countries of the European Union reacted sharply to his detention and regarded the plane’s landing as “forced.”
On the eve of radio Sputnik reported how the EU Aviation Security Agency explained its decision regarding Belarus.