Polish airline LOT explained its plane's brief entry into Belarus
Usually, European aircraft avoid Belarus.
A LOT passenger plane flying from Vilnius to Warsaw briefly entered Belarusian airspace on September 1 due to weather conditions. MOST was informed about this by the Polish airline.
“During flight LO772 from Vilnius to Warsaw, which was operated on September 1, a strong thunderstorm front was forming along the flight path — from Sejny, near the Polish-Lithuanian border, all the way to Ostrów Mazowiecka. To ensure flight safety, the aircraft commander, in agreement with the air traffic control service in Vilnius, requested a course correction and received permission for it. The aircraft then transitioned to the control of the Polish regional air traffic control service,” LOT airline responded to MOST's inquiry.
They added that LOT does not operate flights using Belarusian airspace, and on September 1, the aircraft was there for only a few tens of seconds as a result of a course correction related to weather conditions.
“This was an isolated incident, dictated by safety considerations and occurring in agreement with the air traffic control service,” the airline explained.
Flight LO772 Vilnius — Warsaw crossed the border of Belarus on September 1, flying over the Grodno region.
In May 2021, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recommended that airlines from EU countries avoid flying through Belarus. This decision was made after the forced landing in Minsk of a Ryanair plane with Roman Protasevich on board. However, the rules allow such an overflight if the use of Belarusian airspace is necessary "to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft in unforeseen circumstances."
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