EU bans Belarusian carriers from its airspace and airports
European Union ambassadors on Friday adopted a plan to ban Belarus carriers from flying over EU territory or landing in EU airports, as the country's exiled opposition leader called for more joint Western sanctions, Reuters reported.
According to the statement, released by the Council of European Union, member states will therefore be required to deny permission to land in, take off from or overfly their territories to any aircraft operated by Belarusian air carriers, including as a marketing carrier.
The EU decision is part of planned punitive measures against Belarus in response to Minsk's scrambling a warplane to force the landing on May 23 of a Ryanair flight carrying an opposition journalist, who was then arrested.