Slovakia prevents Belarusian Airlines from entering its airspace

Slovakia is preventing Belarusian airlines from entering its airspace as of Wednesday midnight, Transport Minister Andrej Doležal (a We Are Family nominee) announced on Wednesday. "This decision is an expression of solidarity and disagreement with an unprecedented act in which civilians were directly threatened," added Doležal. EU leaders agreed at a summit on Monday that they would ban Belarusian airlines from using the airspace and airports of the 27-nation bloc. At the same time airlines based in the Union will avoid Belarusian airspace. This decision is a response to the recent arrest of Belarusian opposition journalist Raman Protasevich, who was detained at Minsk airport after his flight from Athens to Vilnius was diverted and forced to land in Belarus under the false pretext of a bomb on board.