NEWS FLASH
The Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration has said Air Montenegro did not break any rules when its Embraer jet, operating a regular charter flight between Tivat and Vilnius, overflew Belarusian airspace earlier this month. “The flight path did not constitute a violation, as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) safety directive only recommends that non-European Union carriers entering Lithuanian airspace avoid Belarusian airspace. They are not prohibited from flying through Belarusian airspace. However, carriers from the EU cannot cross Belarusian airspace”. The Transport Safety Administration said it would ask Air Montenegro to follow the EASA recommendations. In May 2021, Lithuania proposed for the EU to ban all carriers registered in the block to fly over Belarus, which it eventually did. It came after the forced landing of Ryanair’s Athens - Vilnius flight in Minsk and the arrest of a dissident blogger. Air Montenegro launched regular charter flights between Tivat and Vilnius on May 29. Out of the eight flights it has so far completed on the route, it crossed into Belarusian airspace only once, on the outbound service on June 12, which was enough to catch the attention of the Lithuanian press.