EU pressure on Minsk-bound airlines is bearing fruit, Commission says
According to EURACTIV, the European Commission has established contacts with various airlines in an effort to cut the Minsk-facilitated migration route, the EU executive said recently as several airlines confirmed they will restrict certain practices that could benefit human trafficking.
In recent days, the EU has been in talks with international carriers such as Turkish Airlines to urge them to suspend one-way tickets to Minsk, from where the bloc says migrants are transported to the Polish border as a means to pressure the EU.
The development comes as EU foreign ministers are set to agree on a new round of sanctions while the bloc is exploring options for how to stop Belarusian state-owned airline Belavia from leasing aircraft from companies including Ireland’s AerCap and Denmark’s Nordic Aviation Capital.
Belavia is likely to be hit by the EU’s next sanctions package. The airline said on Friday it would stop allowing citizens of Iraq, Syria, and Yemen to board flights from Turkey to Belarus at the request of Turkish authorities.
“In line with a decision by the … Turkish authorities, citizens of Iraq, Syria, Yemen will not be accepted for transportation on flights from Turkey to Belarus from 12.11.2021,” it said in a statement on its website.
According to several EU diplomats, the EU is however unlikely to move against Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines or others at this point.
At the same time, Turkish Airlines, one of the main international carriers flying to Minsk, has agreed to suspend one-way ticket sales for Middle Eastern migrants seeking to reach Europe via Belarus, the European Commission said on Friday.
Commissioners MargaritisSchinas and Adina Valean are also in touch with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the and Arab Air Carriers Organisation, the Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, Dana Spinant, confirmed.
“Contacts have also been established with various airlines and all airlines contacted have strongly condemned any form of human trafficking and have indicated their full commitment to fight against it,” Spinant said.
Iraqi Airlines has also said it will not fly to Minsk, the Commission said, after top EU officials began talks with Iraq, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates and Turkey to try to stop migrants being encouraged by Belarus to come to the EU.
