Belarus sparks global aviation political crisis

Alex Macheras

Belarus’s forced diversion of a Ryanair Boeing 737 to arrest journalist Roman Protasevich has prompted a global crisis. Global aviation is facing its biggest political crisis in years after the aircraft was forced to divert (following what turned out to be a false bomb alert) in order for the Belarusian authorises to detain a dissident journalist, prompting US and European outrage. The incident on Sunday saw a Belarusian MiG-29 fighter jet scramble to intercept a Ryanair flight between two EU member states, Greece and Lithuania, over the alleged bomb threat. Ryanair said Belarusian air traffic control notified its crew of a “potential security threat on board” and instructed them to divert the plane to the nearest airport, Minsk. Flight tracker sites indicated the plane was in Belarusian airspace and about 10km (6 miles) from the Lithuanian border when it was diverted. Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary described the move as “a case of state-sponsored hijacking” and “state-sponsored piracy”. Several airlines, including Lufthansa, Austrian, Singapore Airlines and British Airways are now avoiding Belarus airspace, a key corridor between western Europe and Moscow and route for long-haul flights between western Europe and Asia. Other airlines, including Chinese and Turkish carriers, are continuing to fly over Belarus – each flight that crosses its airspace provides Belarus with the revenue equivalent of $500 in overflight charges. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it had notified its 31 member states about the incident and an airline source said the agency had recommended “caution” over Belarus. “The UN Secretary-General is deeply concerned over the apparent forced landing of a passenger aircraft over Belarus on 23 May and the subsequent detention of Mr Roman Protasevich, a Belarusian journalist on board”, said a statement issued by the Spokesperson for António Guterres. The UN chief called for “a full, transparent and independent investigation into this disturbing incident” and urged all parties concerned to co-operate with the inquiry. ICAO said the incident may have contravened a core aviation treaty: part of the international order created after World War II. “ICAO is strongly concerned by the apparent forced landing of a Ryanair flight and its passengers, which could be in contravention of the Chicago Convention,” it said on Sunday. Article 1 of the Chicago Convention provides that a state has “complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory”. When overflying a state’s national airspace, therefore, civil aircraft are subject to the full jurisdiction of that state and can be intercepted and ordered to land at the indicated airport. Article 3 bis (a) of the Chicago Convention, however, also specifies that “in case of interception, the lives of persons on board and the safety of aircraft must not be endangered”. But the right to overfly other countries is contained in a side treaty called the International Air Services Transit Agreement, of which Belarus is not a member. The EU is now seeking further “targeted” economic sanctions and relevant measures against persons and entities “as soon as possible”. The Council, during a 24 May session, called for necessary measures to block Belarusian airlines’ entry to EU airspace and access to EU airports. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says the diversion of the flight involved “unjustified intervention” by military aircraft and “misuse” of air navigation services, to carry out an “attack on democracy” and an “attack on freedom of expression”. “The European Council decided that there will be additional sanctions on individuals that are involved in the hijacking, but this time also on businesses and economic entities that are financing this regime,” she says. “Belarus used its control over its airspace in order to perpetrate a state hijacking. Therefore, the safety and security of flights through Belarus airspace can no longer be trusted.” The Council’s statement follows the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s banning of operations by all Belarusian carriers until further notice. All foreign carrier permits held by Belarusian airlines are being suspended, says the CAA. The Lithuanian government has similarly banned the carrier’s flights, and it has cancelled its Vilnius services from 25 May. Latvian airline airBaltic on Tuesday suspended all flights from Riga to Minsk from Thursday until further notice. It had planned up to three weekly flights between the cities until late October. Finland’s flag carrier said on Tuesday it would stop using Belarusian airspace, a decision that will affect three flights a week. The Scandinavian airline SAS, which flies twice a week between Oslo and Kyiv, said on Monday it would avoid Belarusian airspace. Singapore Airlines said on Tuesday it would re-route its flights to Europe to avoid Belarusian airspace. Czech airline group Smartwings said yesterday it would avoid Belarus airspace on its flights to and from Moscow. Ryanair said on Tuesday no flights were planned to fly over Belarus airspace. Poland’s LOT will not fly in Belarus airspace and has suspended flights to the capital Minsk, it said on Tuesday. * The author is an aviation analyst. Twitter handle: @AlexInAir