Syrian airline suspends flights to Minsk

Enlarge image

Minsk airport (archive photo 2020)

Photo: VASILY FEDOSENKO / REUTERS

The private Syrian airline Cham Wings is suspending its flights to Belarus due to the current refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border. The connection to Minsk will be discontinued with immediate effect because the airline "cannot distinguish between travelers and migrants," said the airline. The EU accuses Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of luring people from countries like Syria and Iraq into the country in retaliation for EU sanctions and then smuggling them to the borders of the EU states Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

"Because of the difficult situation on the border between Belarus and Poland and because most of the travelers on our flights to Minsk are Syrian citizens, we have decided to stop our flights to Minsk," said Cham Wings.

Thousands of people, especially from the Middle East, are currently stuck in freezing temperatures in the border area between Belarus and Poland.

Following threats of sanctions from the EU, Turkey had already decided not to allow citizens of several Arab countries to fly to Belarus from its national territory.

Turkish Airlines offers one of the most popular international connections to Minsk.

jso / AFP / dpa