Belarusian flag-carrier Belavia fails to convince EU court to lift flight ban

Belarusian flag-carrier Belavia has failed to convince the European General Court to lift restrictions on the carrier, imposed after the airline was accused of aiding illegal migration to the EU for political purposes. State-owned Belavia was sanctioned over concerns that it was supporting efforts in 2021 by president Alexander Lukashenko’s regime to undermine the EU, by transporting migrants from the Middle East to Minsk and facilitating illegal border crossings. Belavia had argued to the court that the restrictions should be annulled, alleging a “manifest error of assessment” by the Council of the European Union as well as a failure by the Council to meet the required standard of proof. The Council had disputed Belavia’s objections. It argued that Belavia had opened new routes and expanded capacity to carry would-be illegal migrants – particularly from Lebanon, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates – and that local tour operators had served as intermediaries to help Belavia “keep a low profile”.<br/>