Restrictions on Air Ticket Sales Between Both Countries Except for Humanitarian Reasons
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] The U.S. government has decided to ban travel between the United States and Belarus in response to the forced landing incident of a Belarusian passenger plane.
On the 6th (local time), the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Department of Transportation issued an order prohibiting the sale of air travel tickets between the U.S. and Belarus, except for humanitarian or national security reasons.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of Transportation had announced last week that it would impose a travel ban on Belarus.
This measure, which takes effect immediately, was requested by the U.S. Department of State and also applies to "interline" tickets, where multiple airlines cooperate to connect different flight routes.
However, since there are currently no direct flights between the U.S. and Belarus and actual travel demand from the U.S. to Belarus is low, this travel ban is considered a symbolic measure in response to the forced landing incident.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) stated, "Blocking a passenger plane in an aggressive and unjust manner is a clear violation of Belarus's obligations and disregards internationally accepted codes of conduct," expressing support for the measure.
In May, Belarusian authorities forcibly landed a passenger plane belonging to an Irish airline, flying from Athens, Greece to Vilnius, Lithuania, at Minsk airport. Subsequently, the authorities arrested opposition activist Raman Pratasevich, who was on board, at the scene.
As Belarus deployed fighter jets to force the landing of a foreign-registered passenger plane, international criticism surged, prompting the United States, the European Union (EU), and other Western countries to announce a series of sanctions against Belarus.
U.S. President Joe Biden called the incident "an infuriating event" and urged the international community to conduct a joint investigation.
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