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Singapore Airlines reroutes flights to avoid Belarus airspace after forced landing of Ryanair plane
Channel News Asia ^ | 25 May 2021 | Kurt Ganapathy

Posted on 05/25/2021 12:06:51 AM PDT by nickcarraway

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is currently rerouting some of its flights to avoid Belarus airspace after the eastern European country forced a Ryanair plane to land to arrest a journalist on board.

“The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority,” said an SIA spokesperson in response to a CNA query on Tuesday (May 25).

“We are currently rerouting our flights that are bound for Europe to avoid the Belarusian airspace, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

A Scoot spokesperson said the airline currently does not operate any flights over Belarusian airspace, but added that it would be monitoring the situation closely.

Belarus sparked international outrage on Sunday when President Alexander Lukashenko dispatched a fighter jet to intercept a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius carrying wanted reporter Roman Protasevich, 26, and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega.

Belarus authorities later arrested the opposition journalist after the aircraft was forced to land in the capital city of Minsk.

Protasevich’s social media feed from exile has been one of the last remaining independent outlets for news about the country since a mass crackdown on dissent began last year.

The country said it was acting in response to a bomb threat on the flight, although this turned out to be false. It said on Monday that its ground controllers had given guidance to the flight but had not ordered it to land.

The move has drawn condemnation from world leaders, with United States President Joe Biden describing it as "a direct affront to international norms".

European leaders meeting in Brussels called for the release of the pair and agreed to ban Belarusian airlines from the bloc, urging EU-based carriers not to fly over its airspace.

CNA has also reached out to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

(Excerpt) Read more at channelnewsasia.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airtraffic; belarus; singaporeairlinesl

1 posted on 05/25/2021 12:06:51 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

A Scoot spokesperson said the airline currently does not operate any flights over Belarusian airspace, but added that it would be monitoring the situation closely.
————
Considering Scoot operates mainly to places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong - 4 hours or less - I certainly hope it doesn’t fly over Belarus.


2 posted on 05/25/2021 12:10:17 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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To: Starcitizen

Virtue signalling is out of control.


3 posted on 05/25/2021 12:12:30 AM PDT by proust (All posts made under this handle are, for the intents and purposes of the author, considered satire.)
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To: nickcarraway

When Sleepy Joe awakens from his nap he’ll probably send the stiff note to follow!


4 posted on 05/25/2021 12:15:52 AM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: proust

Virtue signalling is out of control.
————————
Singaporean companies rarely virtue signal.

Singapore doesn’t give into the woke nonsense.

Remember when India blamed Singapore for its COVID outbreak? The Singapore government (Ministry of Manpower) started mass cancellation of work permits for white-collar Indian workers


5 posted on 05/25/2021 12:21:56 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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To: Starcitizen

If they don’t actually fly over the region, they lose/risk nothing by putting out this press release. It’s cheap virtue signalling.


6 posted on 05/25/2021 12:25:17 AM PDT by proust (All posts made under this handle are, for the intents and purposes of the author, considered satire.)
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To: Starcitizen

Picking on Singapore Airlines is stupid.
But the truth is, that many (most) other airlines, flying in Europe, like Ryanair, are rerouting flights around Belarus.
Flight to and from Belarus are being canceled too.


7 posted on 05/25/2021 2:43:08 AM PDT by AZJeep (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0AHQkryIIs)
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To: Starcitizen

Why all the news about Belatus? Belarus is a strong ally of Russia. The military industrial complex wants to sell new weapons to the military. The left’s constant lisping about “Twump Wusshia Coeeusthion’. China Joe’s handlers are itching to start a war.


8 posted on 05/25/2021 2:54:40 AM PDT by MuttTheHoople (What if the Lord sent COVID-19 to immunize the world from something more deadly?)
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To: proust

If they don’t actually fly over the region, they lose/risk nothing by putting out this press release. It’s cheap virtue signalling.
————-
Scoot/Tiger Air, and SilkAir are all subsidiaries of Singapore Airlines, and they do code share.

So it’s actually meaningful to list that information.


9 posted on 05/25/2021 3:47:12 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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To: MuttTheHoople

The Democrats are the War Party

Trump: peace breaking out all over
Biden/Obama/Clinton and honorary Democrats Bush I and Bush II: war breaking out all over.

Why wasn’t that a campaign issue? No one knows…


10 posted on 05/25/2021 3:50:15 AM PDT by Starcitizen (So Indian H1B crybaby trash runs Free Republic moderation??? Seems so. )
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To: nickcarraway

It’s stupid to fly over a country that wants you dead, regardless. That journalist probably endangered everyone else on board. If not a direct intercept, it might have been “accidentally” shot down.


11 posted on 05/25/2021 8:27:29 AM PDT by jimmygrace
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