Belarus, all open issues for air transport
The hijacking by Belarus of a Ryanair flight raises problems of a political, legal and economic nature. The analysis of Alfredo Roma, former president of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), on International Affairs
The hijacking of state operated by Belarus in respect of an international scheduled flight operated by Ryanair is a very serious fact that raises problems of a political, legal and economic nature, which primarily concern the European Union because a Community carrier was hit, but also all world civil aviation for potential dangers to flight safety
Ryanair flight FR 4978 leaves in the late morning of 23 May from Athens to Vilnius airport. A low-cost flight with a south-north route that did not have any kind of complication until the aircraft approached the border between Belarus and Lithuania. At that point, an emergency communication arrives from the Belarusian flight authorities: on board, according to Minsk, there is a bomb. The pilot, not convinced of the threat, asks the Belarusian authorities to land him anyway in the Lithuanian capital, since it is now closer than Minsk. But the signal from Minsk is clear: reverse the route and head for the capital's airport. Shortly thereafter, a Belarusian Mig-29 joins the Boeing Ryanair and accompanies it to the Minsk airport.
The conversations on board / ground confirm an excited negotiation between the commander of the plane and the Belarusian air control. Once on the ground, the Belarusian authorities got into the plane and arrested dissident Roman Protasevich and his partner.
According to Annex 2 of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), “for flights that take place outside the national airspace, therefore including territorial waters, the competent authority is that of the state of registration”. This is the norm also reported by our navigation code. However, it is believed that this applies when the aircraft is in flight, while when it is on the ground with the doors open it is subject to the law of the state in which it is located. For this the Belarusian agents were able to enter the plane stopped at the Minsk airport and arrest Protasevich.
The defense of the Belarusian authorities appeared ridiculous. They claimed that the danger of a bomb on board was reported by Hamas in an email that was later found to have been sent twenty minutes after the hijacking.
AERIAL PIRACY
This fact can certainly be defined as an act of air piracy. In diplomatic terminology, aerial piracy is a criminal act consisting in the violent seizure of an aircraft and the imposition with an armed threat of diverting its route, for purposes contrary to its legal system.
Understood in this way, aerial piracy constitutes a criminal fact that has some characteristics of both a legal and extra-legal nature. First of all, it has multiple international relevance, having regard to the legal system of the State of registration of the aircraft with respect to the system of the State in whose territory, or in whose airspace, the deed was committed. The Hague Convention of 1970 and the Montreal Convention of 1971 regulate this rather complicated matter. The hijacking of the Ryanair flight is particularly serious because it took place in a country, Belarus, which is a member of ICAO and therefore should comply with the relevant regulations. Usually these facts are examined by international bodies which can implement punitive measures.
PROHIBITION OF OVERVOLVING
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has asked all European airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace for safety reasons, saying the hijacking of the Ryanair flight has called into question the safety of Belarusian skies. The circumstances of the incident, EASA says, cast serious doubts on Belarus's compliance with international civil aviation standards.
Each country exercises its sovereignty over the airspace that dominates its territory. For his overflight he receives an overflight fee paid by the airlines. Avoiding to fly over Belarusian airspace can represent a substantial loss of revenue for that state. In any case, it is an invitation that a State can make to its airlines, or the European Union, as in the case of EASA, to European companies, but the carriers are not obliged to follow it.
More effective is to set a no-fly zone. It is a territory within which there is a ban on overflight. This act of air piracy that took place in Belarus will have to be examined by ICAO, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, and in this context a no-fly zone could be decided on the whole territory of Belarus.
OTHER SANCTIONS
In theory, as emerged from the conclusions of the European Council a week ago , the EU could blacklist the Belarusian carrier Belavia by prohibiting not only operating flights to / from the European Union, but also flying over EU airspace. As Belarus is, as mentioned, a member of ICAO, it is not possible to simply prohibit the overflight of another Member State and landing at one of its airports based on the five freedoms of the air established by the Agreements reached after the Chicago Conference of 1944 The inclusion in a black list establishes the unreliability of the company and therefore a danger to the safety of the flight.
Belarus has long been in the crosshairs of EU countries. Since last October, the EU has gradually imposed restrictive measures against Belarus for violating human rights. But this piracy has also endangered the lives of European citizens. The current sanctions – travel bans and asset freezes – have hit seven entities and 88 people including dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko himself, his son Viktor who is a national security adviser and other key figures. Already last week, EU foreign ministers began discussing a fourth package of sanctions targeting around 50 Belarusian officials in June (travel bans and asset freezes) for human rights violations. Proposals that the United States is now in line with.
Article published on affarinternazionali.it
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/bielorussia-tutte-le-questioni-aperte-per-il-trasporto-aereo/ on Wed, 02 Jun 2021 05:40:46 +0000.