KLM continues to fly over Belarus after Ryanair’s flight is diverted

The airline KLM sees no reason to avoid Belarusian airspace. Yesterday, the Belarusian authorities diverted a Ryanair passenger flight to arrest blogger and journalist Roman Protasevic, an opponent of the tyrannical President Lukashenko.

A spokesman for the Dutch airline said, “We consulted all our sources, including the government, and conducted our risk assessment.” “KLM does not see any security risks. The process will continue normally.”

KLM’s trips to Southeast Asia, among other things, pass over Belarus.

Sky piracy

The Latvian airline Air Baltic has stated that it is no longer flying over Belarus at this time. The company says it will only do so again when the situation is clearer, or when governments come up with advice. Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has also said it will not fly over Belarus for the time being.

The chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the UK Parliament said airlines should stop flying over Belarus for the time being in light of the measure. “This is an act of sky piracy and a kidnapping that resulted in a kidnapping,” Tom Tugendhat told Radio Times.

A horrific event

The KLM Pilots Association speaks of an “unacceptable country hijacking” and a “horrific event”. “At the moment, it appears to be a violation of the safety of overflight countries and airspace,” says Chairman Willem Schmid. This will have political consequences. “

According to him, the decision of the KLM could be defended. “As always, a risk analysis should be done, and on this basis it is decided whether or not to continue flying. If this analysis is done properly and on a large scale, the result may be to continue the process.”