Belavia airline to check lists of personae non gratae
Belarus MPs amend laws to allow national flag carrier Belavia to check if its passengers are on entry-ban list.
The law on border security was amended a session of the parliament on April 2, after the head of the Border Control Committee Leanid Maltsau made a speech, suggesting to oblige international airlines to check whether foreign tourists could enter Belarus.
The changes will affect Belavia in the first place, Maltsau said. 1144 passengers of the airline came to Belarus but were not allowed to enter the country in 2013. 433 of them were forbidden to enter the country and 711 people were refused visas.
Since the passengers did not violate any laws, the Belarusian authorities could not detain them and the foreigners stayed in the transit area. Belavia refused to send them back at its own expense. When foreign citizens could not pay for a return ticket, they had to spend weeks in the transit area waiting for their issue to be sorted out.
Belavia will now have to check before the flight whether all the booked passengers can enter Belarus. If such passengers still arrive in Belarus by plane, Belavia will be obliged to pay for their return ticket, under the amended legislation.
Photo: nnm.me
