Ryanair calls for restoration of access to Belarusian airspace

According to CEO Ryanair, the politicization of airspace zones is not the way to solve the problem because it will harm the aviation industry in particular and international connectivity in general.

Ryanair aircraft at Stansted Airport, North East London, England. (Photo: AFP/VNA) On June 15, Ryanair (Republic of Ireland) confirmed that it did not support the application flight ban instead of entering Belarusian airspace for the long term, instead, the authorities of countries need to talk to Belarus to avoid a repeat of the emergency landing situation as happened last month with this airline. Earlier, on May 23, the Belarusian authorities requested a Ryanair airliner emergency landing at the airport in Minsk after receiving a bomb threat. After searching and making sure there were no security threats, the plane continued on its way to Lithuania. Belarus insists its actions were legal and will open an investigation into the false alarm. It also accused Western countries of politicizing the matter, claiming that Belarus had requested a Ryanair plane to land to arrest opposition figure Roman Protasevich and insisted it was just a coincidence. Following the allegation, the European Union (EU) and the UK banned Belarusian airlines from flying over their airspace and issued safety guidelines advising European airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace and only fly over in an emergency. Speaking to a UK Parliament committee, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said the air transport industry depends heavily on long-term “unlimited” access to all international airspace. Therefore, this CEO called for an early restoration of unlimited access to Belarusian airspace and said that EU and UK officials, in coordination with international partners, should work with the Belarusian side to ensure no repeat the problem that happened with this company. According to CEO Ryanair , the politicization of airspace zones is not the way to solve the problem because it will harm the aviation industry in particular and international connectivity in general.