MOSCOW, May 28. / TASS /. The Federal Air Transport Agency warned carriers about a possible increase in the time for obtaining permits for arrival, departure and overflight over Russia, due to the situation with European airlines flying around Belarus.
"The delays are related to the increase in the total number of requests, the agency said. "Yesterday, the Federal Air Transport Agency issued a notice in which it notified the airlines that when changing the previously approved routes from and to locations in Europe to and through the airspace of Russia should take into account the possible increase in the time it takes to obtain a permit for arrival, departure and transit. The increase in the execution time of procedures is due to the increase in the total number of requests from airlines," the agency noted. They clarified that over the past day, European airlines performed 113 flights through the airspace of Belarus, 53 flights were made on alternative routes. Russian airlines performed 134 flights through Belarus.
The Federal Air Transport Agency added that Russian air traffic controllers will regulate air flows "in accordance with established rules in order to ensure the established capacity of the affected airspace and ensure an adequate level of flight safety."
After the incident with the forced landing of the plane of the Irish airline Ryanair in Minsk, European countries decided to ban Belarusian airlines from flying to EU airports and use its airspace, and also recommended their carriers to avoid flying over the republic. Earlier it became known that Air France and Air Australia could not promptly agree on new routes for flights to Moscow, which is why several flights were canceled. Today, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the European Union is alarmed by Moscow's refusal to accept flights from the countries of the union.