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On Sunday afternoon, a Ryanair passenger plane flying from Athens to Vilnius forcibly landed at Minsk airport. The company reported that the plane landed at Minsk airport because Belarusian air dispatchers reported a possible security threat on the plane. This information was not confirmed later.
This plane was flown by R. Pratasevičius, Belarusian opposition activist and blogger and founder of the Nexta information channel. When the plane landed in Minsk, he was detained, as was his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen and a student at the European University of Humanities in Vilnius.
On Monday, Lithuania banned flights to and from Lithuania from Belarusian airspace, which should affect dozens of flight directions. At that time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly recommends not going to Belarus and leaving the country for those present. The ban will go into effect on Tuesday at 2 pm Lithuanian time.
“It just came to our knowledge then [lietuviai] makes emotional decisions without receiving an investigation, “said Arciomas Sikorski, Head of the Aviation Department of the Belarusian Ministry of Transport and Communications, during a press conference in Minsk on Monday.
He added that Vilnius had not officially informed Minsk about the restrictions.
“If the Lithuanian aviation authority, mainly aviation security specialists, is interested, [siūlome] make our decision and examine this situation here, on the ground, objectively. We invite you to come to Minsk, “said A. Sikorski.
He added that Belarus registers individual cancellations of flights through the country’s airspace.
“There are no threats to aircraft flying through our airspace. I declare this with full responsibility,” said A. Sikorskis.
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