Enlarge image
For the time being, Lufthansa will no longer fly over Belarusian airspace
Photo:
CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP
Due to the tensions with Belarus after the forced landing of a passenger plane, Lufthansa will initially avoid the airspace of the Eastern European country.
"Due to the current dynamic situation, we are suspending the operation in Belarusian airspace for the time being," announced the airline.
The next flight between Frankfurt and Minsk would be planned for this Wednesday.
This should still be decided, said a spokeswoman.
According to SPIEGEL information, Minsk Airport had urgently reported to the German authorities on Monday lunchtime that they had received a written terror threat against the Lufthansa flight.
According to this, an unknown sender had credibly threatened by e-mail that he wanted to explode the plane on the way to Frankfurt via Poland.
According to the authorities, the email was very specific.
At the same time as the attack on the aircraft, a terrorist attack was planned at the main train station in Minsk, where many police officers would be killed.
The actions should lead to the "destruction of Lukashenko's illegitimate regime".
Because of the details, Minsk reported to Germany that the threat was classified as "serious".
Shortly after the warning, the authorities stopped boarding and checked all 51 passengers and their luggage with explosive dogs.
The jet itself was also examined from the outside for possible manipulation.
LH1487 was only able to take off for Frankfurt a good two hours after the planned start.
According to the Flightradar24.com platform, the plane landed in Frankfurt at 5:38 p.m., where the police once again went around the plane with explosive dogs, but they did not hit it.
Ryanair plane forced to land
On Sunday, the authorities of the authoritarian republic landed a Ryanair plane on its way from Greece to Lithuania with the help of a fighter jet in Minsk - allegedly because of a bomb threat.
According to EU information, 171 people were on board.
Most of the remaining passengers traveled on to Vilnius after hours of delay.
The regime critic and blogger Roman Protasevich, who was also on board, was arrested with his girlfriend.
According to the Belarusian Interior Ministry, he is in custody in Minsk.
The Belarusian government defended its actions with an alleged threatening letter from the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas.
The email stated, among other things, that "a bomb had been deposited" on board the plane, said Artem Sikorski, head of the aviation department in the Belarusian Ministry of Transport
hba / mgb / dpa