Belavia was forced to turn around a flight to Barcelona

The airline was due to operate a scheduled flight B2869 on the Minsk-Barcelona-Minsk route today. There were 54 passengers on board of Embraer 195. Belavia had all the authorisations for this flight. The aircraft left the airport as scheduled.

However, as it transpired a little later, three minutes before take-off, the French aviation authorities manually deactivated the flight plan without notifying the airline. The information was relayed to the commander by the Polish Air Traffic Control while climbing. Attempts to reroute in the air with the Marseille Air Traffic Management did not lead to a positive result. Moreover, the French dispatcher referred to a verbal order from the French Prime Minister.

We would like to point out that the ban on Minsk-Paris flights received earlier from the French aviation authorities did not initially include a ban on overflying French airspace. Belavia did not receive an updated ban until 3:16 p.m. today. Until then, the plane waited in the air for about two hours before returning to Minsk.

A repeated attempt to coordinate the route with the Marseille Air Traffic Management Authority also proved unsuccessful, including with regard to flights over neutral waters, which contravenes the Chicago Convention and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers and apologise.