EU Bans Belarusian Airlines from Operating in Union Airspace

On Friday, European Union ambassadors approved a plan to ban Belarusian airlines from operating in the EU airspace or landing at airports in the 27-member bloc. This decision will take effect starting midnight on June 5.

The EU has also advised airlines from member states to avoid flights over Belarusian airspace, Reuters reports. However, these recommendations are not legally binding.

According to Eurocontrol, the European air traffic management agency, this decision will affect approximately 400 civil flights that typically operate over Belarus daily, including about 100 flights conducted by airlines from the EU or the UK.

It should be noted that on June 3, the Belarusian government decided to reduce the staffing of the U.S. embassy in Minsk starting June 13. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry announced it would cut both the diplomatic and administrative technical staff of the embassy. Belarus is also imposing restrictions on visa procedures and canceling the permission granted to the USAID agency to operate in the country. These measures were taken after the Biden administration restored widespread sanctions against nine state-owned enterprises in Belarus.