Search
Belarus Overflight Cover

Which airlines flew over Belarus last week?

Share this article

Following the forced diversion of Ryanair FR4978 on Sunday 23 May, some airlines immediately began re-routing their flights around Belarus. Some regulators also issued their own prohibitions on operations over Belarus. But which airlines flew over Belarus last week believing the airspace to be safe?

Which airlines flew over Belarus last week?

In the week from 17-23 May, 3,297 flights entered Belarus airspace. 2,630 of those flights were just transiting Belarus. A total of 148 different commercial airlines overflew Belarus during the week. 55 airlines passed through Belarus at least 10 times in the week and accounted for 79% of the total overflights. Of those 55 airlines, Russian airlines accounted for 42% of the total, and the top airlines—Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, Pobeda, and Nordwind—account for 32% alone.

The chart below shows overflights by airlines with at least 21 overflights during the seven-day period from 17-23 May. It includes most major European and Chinese airlines, as well as the main US and European cargo airlines.

Belarus overflights by airline graph
Click to expand the graph

Most of the flights that use Belarus’ airspace are just passing through. Since the downing of MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014, airlines have avoided the airspace there, moving many flights that would normally transit Ukraine if on an optimal routing north to Belarus. Most flights transiting Belarus are flying between Western Europe and either Russia or Southeast Asia.

Decreasing overflights

Graph of flights to/from/through Belarus from 17 May to 1 Jun

Which airlines are now avoiding Belarus?

Early Monday, 24 May, AirBaltic announced their intention to avoid Belarus and Wizzair followed suit. Later in the day, the United Kingdom announced that UK-based airlines would be prohibited from operating through the country. The European Union is considering action at this time, but no official announcements have been finalized as of 25 May. Some European airlines have announced or put re-routes into place however. KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Swiss, and Finnair have all re-routed their flights around Belarus’ airspace. As for Asian airlines, Singapore Airlines and Korean Air have rerouted their flights to avoid Belarus, while Chinese airlines continue to use Belarus in transit to European destinations.

Example of airlines rerouting flights around Belarus

US cargo airlines continue to transit Belarus at this time, but the US Department of Transportation has said it is coordinating with the FAA on any actions that may be prudent.

By Wednesday, 26 May, the make-up of airlines overflying Belarus had changed considerably. The following chart, shows data for 26 May only for the top 25 airlines overflying Belarus airspace. Gone are all passenger airlines from Western Europe as well as most of the cargo flights. Russian airlines now account for 12 of the top 25 airlines overflying Belarus.

Chart of top 25 airlines overflying Belarus on 26 May 2021

On The Radar Logo

Get the latest aviation news delivered to you

Get the latest aviation news delivered to you

Flight tracking and aviation industry news direct to your inbox

Aviation news comes quickly, so join more than 1.7 million others who receive weekly aviation industry and flight tracking news from Flightradar24 direct to their inbox.

Share this article
Latest threads
Latest video

Most wanted airport receiver locations

We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage. Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network.

Trending articles
On The Radar Logo
Get weekly updates on Flightradar24 and have the latest aviation news land in your inbox.
AvTalk Logo

AvTalk Episode 317: The (Q1) results are in

Most wanted airport receiver locations

We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage. Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network.

How flight tracking works

Flightradar24 combines data from several data sources including ADS-B, MLAT and radar data.
Search the blog
Follow us
Latest AvTalk Podcasts
More stories
Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian aircraft. The move comes amid rising tensions following an attack by gunmen in Kashmir and a series…
London City International Airport is located in the heart of London, enabling convenient access to the city for some 3.5 million passengers per year….
On 21 April 2025, an aircraft using the call sign WELCOME was spotted in the skies above Lviv, Ukraine. Unidentified in the Flightradar24 database…

Flight tracking top 10 aircraft

Explore the top 10 most tracked aircraft and find out why these particular aircraft draw so much interest.

Help to grow our flight tracking coverage

We are continually looking to improve our flight tracking and the airports below are where new receivers will add the most coverage. Apply for a receiver today and if accepted you’ll receiver a free Flightradar24 Business Subscription.

Free ADS-B Receiver
Flightradar24 logo
Try the full Flightradar24 experience free for 7 days
Remove ads and unlock over 50 additional features
On The Radar Logo

Get the Flightradar24 Aviation newsletter

Flight tracking and aviation industry news direct to your inbox

Aviation news comes quickly, so we want to bring more of the aviation world to you with our weekly Flightradar24 aviation newsletter - On The Radar.

On The Radar Logo