US Aviation Administration tells airlines to use extreme caution when flying over Belarus

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday advised airlines to exercise "extreme caution" while flying over Belarus following the incident with grounding of a Ryanair jet in Minsk.

"The FAA's Notice to Airmen says airlines should continue to exercise extreme caution until the agency can better assess Belarus' actions surrounding the May 23 diversion of a passenger jet and the potential for Belarus to repeat similar actions in the future," the FAA said in a statement.

The FAA said that it is working closely with other US agencies to determine whether any additional measures may be necessary and promised to evaluate an international investigation report to determine the risks for US airlines flying in that area.

On Sunday, an Irish airline Ryanair traveling from Greece to Lithuania made an emergency landing in Minsk over a bomb threat, which turned out to be fake. One of its passengers, Roman Protasevich, the founder of a Telegram channel that Belarus has designated as extremist, was detained during the stopover at the airport.

On Monday, the European Union suspended the flights of Belarussian airplanes and recommended European carriers to avoid flights over Belarus as well as urging new sanctions on the country.(ANI/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )