Belarus aircraft banned from flying over EU

The European Union announced Friday it is banning all flights from Belarus from flying over EU airspace and denying them access to all EU airports. The EU decision is part of planned punitive measures against Belarus in response to Minsk scrambling a warplane to force the landing on May 23 of a Ryanair flight carrying an opposition journalist, who was then arrested. EU governments said in a statement that the move is due to take effect at midnight Central European Time, i.e. 2200 GMT. It requires EU member states to deny permission to land in, take off from or overfly their territories to any aircraft operated by Belarusian air carriers. The ban also includes marketing carriers, which sell seats on planes operated by another airline as part of a code-share agreement. The regional air traffic agency Eurocontrol reports about 400 civilian planes usually take routes over Belarus. Several European airlines including Lufthansa, SAS and Air France have already announced they would stop flying over its airspace. 
On Wednesday, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, had issued a safety directive saying all EU aircraft should also avoid Belarus air space unless in an emergency. Global airline industry body IATA has criticised the decision, which will make flights to Asia longer and more costly.  However, the EU and NATO believe the forced landing of the flight from Athens to Vilnius to arrest journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend amounted to state piracy and must not be tolerated. 
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Protasevich was plotting a rebellion, and accused the West of waging a hybrid war against him. Belarusian national carrier Belavia flies to some 20 airports in Europe including in Germany, France, Italy and Austria.