A decision ... consequences.
After having recommended it to airlines on Monday, the day after the hijacking of a plane by the Belarusian authorities to arrest an opponent, all European planes that flew over Belarus now bypass it.
Thus, flights from Vilnius airport in Lithuania, almost at the border with Belarus, make a long detour and pass through Poland to reach the south.
This decision should not remain without consequences for air traffic to and from France.
France has a certain advantage: its distance from Belarus.
When the neighboring countries of Belarus, like Lithuania, Latvia, Poland or Ukraine literally have to make a detour to avoid Belarusian airspace, planes to and from France just need to shift some distance. little the ride.
From France, "it is only flights to the Far East and Russia that can be impacted", explains to Parisian Jean-Pierre Sauvage, president of BAR, the representative association of airlines in France.
Map of flights passing through Belarus
According to Eurocontrol, which has an eye on air traffic across Europe, around 340 flights on average flew over Belarus every day until Sunday.
But the majority of companies (including Belavia, Aeroflot Russia, Turkish Airlines or Air China) are not forced to turn away to avoid Belarusian airspace.
An extension of the flight time?
At Air France, we don't worry.
"The bypass is a classic operation: we do this permanently, when there are military exercises for example," explains the airline to Le Parisien.
The airline also notes "that a plane does not always follow the same route depending on the weather conditions and that the passage over Belarus, until now, was not always the one that was carried out".
Should we expect consequences? "Bypassing the territory can involve an extension of the flight time and therefore have economic repercussions on the companies and therefore on the passengers", explains Jean-Pierre Sauvage. "It will be on a case-by-case basis, depending on the flight, the destination, the weather ..." explains one at Air France, without being able to go any further. Bypassing may prove even more difficult, however, with a large part of Ukraine in the east having been banned from overflight since a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down in 2014, during the annexation of Crimea by Russia.
If from France, French travelers should encounter few problems with the closure of Belarusian airspace, this should not be the case for those with connections.
Frankfurt airport in Germany and Warsaw airport in Poland are among those that send or arrive the most planes passing over Belarus, from and to Asia, according to Eurocontrol.
We are working with the EU and all our Member States to facilitate any action they take following the forced diversion of the @Ryanair flight on Sunday. @ Transport_EU @ECACceac @ICAO @CANSOEurope @IATA @ A4Europe pic.twitter.com/11jAJ8qPSG
- Eamonn Brennan (@eurocontrolDG) May 25, 2021
However, the consequences of the closure of Belarusian airspace will be measured over time. With reduced traffic due to Covid-19 and the countries of the Far East for the most part still closed to travelers, these consequences are now marginal for French travelers. But what will happen if the measure remains in force and air traffic starts to rise again?