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Singapore Airlines re-routes European flights away from Belarusian airspace
May 26th 2021
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has rerouted its flight paths to Europe to avoid Belarusian airspace, The Straits Times has reported, citing comments from an airline spokesperson. Read More » "We are currently rerouting our flights that are bound for Europe to avoid Belarusian airspace and we will continue to closely monitor the situation," SIA told the newspaper. SIA joined a host of carriers avoiding the airspace controlled by Belarus after the government forced a Ryanair flight, bound from Athens to Vilnius, Lithuania, to divert to the Belarus capital, Minsk, under escort of a MiG-29 jet fighter. After the aircraft had landed, journalist Roman Protasevich, who was on board the flight, was arrested and taken away. His travelling companion also was arrested. The incident has received widespread condemnation, including from International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general, Willie Walsh. "IATA strongly condemns any interference or requirement for landing of civil aviation operations that is inconsistent with the rules of international law," Walsh said.
