<span style="color: #222222;">Belarus carriers will be banned from flying over European Union territory or having access to its airports from today. The EU decision is part of planned punitive measures against Belarus in response to Minsk scrambling a warplane to force the landing on 23rd May of a Ryanair flight carrying an opposition journalist, who was then arrested.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">EU governments said in a statement that the move is due to take effect at midnight Central European Time, i.e. 2200 GMT. It requires EU member states to deny permission to land in, take off from or overfly their territories to any aircraft operated by Belarusian air carriers. The ban also includes marketing carriers, which sell seats on planes operated by another airline as part of a code-share agreement.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">On Wednesday, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, had issued a safety directive saying all EU aircraft should also avoid Belarus air space unless in an emergency. Global airline industry body IATA has criticised the decision, which will make flights to Asia longer and more costly.  However, the EU and NATO believe the forced landing of the flight from Athens to Vilnius to arrest journalist Roman Protasevich and his girlfriend amounted to state piracy and must not be tolerated.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said Protasevich was plotting a rebellion, and accused the West of waging a hybrid war against him. Belarusian national carrier Belavia flies to some 20 airports in Europe including in Germany, France, Italy and Austria.</span><br />''  <br />