KLM to temporarily halt flights over Belarus

KLM, the Dutch arm of carrier Air France KLM, will temporarily halt flights over Belarus after the country forced a Ryanair flight to land and detained a dissident journalist. The measure came shortly after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte appealed to airlines in Europe to avoid Belarusian airspace, ahead of a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels. “KLM has taken note of Prime Minister Rutte’s call to suspend flight operations over Belarus until further notice. KLM will heed this call including the code share flights to Minsk operated by Belavia”, the Dutch airline said. KLM added that earlier consultations with relevant authorities had shown there was “no compelling reason to suspend flight operations over Belarus”, as there was no safety risk following Sunday’s incident.<br/>