Raab welcomes aviation watchdog probe into Belarus plane grounding
Dominic Raab this evening said that the UK welcomes a probe into the forced landing of a Ryanair flight by Belarus on Sunday.
Earlier today Ireland’s transport minister said that air travel watchdog International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would investigate the incident, which has been met with international outcry.
Belarus scrambled a fighter and used a false bomb alert to divert the Irish airliner to Minsk and detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich, a critic of Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.
The plane, which was traveling from Athens to Vilnius, was almost in Lithuanian airspace when ordered to land.
Lukashenko said that the 26-year-old had been plotting a “bloody rebellion” against his regime, which many governments have rejected after a disputed election last year.
Several countries, including the US, had called for an investigation. ICAO will produce an interim report by June 25.
“We join our international partners in wanting to know the full circumstances that led up to this grave violation of international law and the attack on the principles that underpin civil aviation,” Raab said in a statement.
The UK has already told its airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, robbing the country of viral overfly revenues, and has also suspended Belavia’s operating permit.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps also said that any Belarusian aircraft which wants to use UK airspace would have to seek special authorisation.
The EU is in the process of deciding on new sanctions against Lukashenko and his regime.