Belavia

From Vero - Wikipedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox airline

Belavia (Template:Langx; Template:Langx), formally Belavia Belarusian Airlines, is the flag carrier of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The state-owned company had, as of 2007, 1,017 employees.<ref name="FI"/> Belavia serves a network of routes between Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as some Middle East destinations, from its base at Minsk National Airport.<ref name="FI">Template:Cite news</ref>

Following the Ryanair Flight 4978 incident on 23 May 2021, the airline has been banned from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

History

1933–1944

Belavia aircraft in July 1994, showing the previous flag of Belarus before 1995.
File:Belavia logo.png
Belavia's previous logo (used until 2016)
Belavia's head office in Minsk
A former Belavia Tupolev TU-154M in 2006

On 7 November 1933, the first Belarusian air terminal opened in Minsk. In the next spring, 3 Po-2 aircraft landed in Minsk.Template:Sfn They became the first aircraft of the Belarusian air fleet. In 1936 the first regular air route between Minsk and Moscow was established.Template:Sfn The Belarusian civil aviation group, an Aeroflot subdivision, was officially founded in the summer of 1940.Template:Sfn That year, Belarusian aviators transported 2,200 passengers, 1,534 doctors, 117 ill people, and 338 tonnes of cargo.Template:Sfn

Belarusian civil aviators participated in World War II as part of the Western Civil Air Fleet Group, which included three regiments, and was under the control of the Red Army,Template:Sfn From June 1941 to June 1942, they transported 60,149 military personnel, evacuated 37,680 people, carried 583.1 tonnes of ammunition, and dropped 3,106 bombs.Template:Sfn Additionally, they assisted Belarusian partisans by transporting 467.9 tonnes of cargo to them and evacuating 1,433 people between 1941 and 1944.Template:Sfn Air connection between Minsk and Moscow was restored in 1944.Template:Sfn

1945–1991

After the war, the Belarus expanded its air fleet by adding Lisunov Li-2 aircraft.Template:Sfn Routes to Mogilev, Vitebsk, Bobruisk, Gomel, Baranovichi, and Polotsk were introduced.Template:Sfn By 1946, the total distance covered by air travel had doubled compared to 1940.Template:Sfn Between 1946 and 1950, Belarusian transport aviation carried over 230,000 passengers, 5,227 tonnes of mail, and 7,127 tonnes of cargo. During this period, Belarus also established air connections with Baltic states, Leningrad, Kishinev and Kaliningrad.Template:Sfn

The Belarusian air fleet saw significant developments throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The Ilyushin Il-12 was introduced in 1951, soon followed by the Ilyushin Il-14.Template:Sfn Since 1954, flight attendants have appeared on flights.Template:Sfn From 1955 onwards, the older Po-2 biplanes were gradually replaced by more modern aircraft like the Yakovlev Yak-12 and Antonov An-2.Template:Sfn

In the 1960s, the fleet was further expanded. The Antonov An-12 and later the Tupolev Tu-124 began operating on the Moscow-Minsk route.Template:Sfn The Antonov An-24 was introduced in 1967.Template:Sfn The number of passengers departing from Belarusian airports grew to 530,000 which was a 7.6-fold increase since 1958.Template:Sfn The total length of the republic's air routes expanded to 17,500 kilometers.Template:Sfn By the end of the decade, Belavia flew 35 routes of Soviet Union importance and 67 republican ones; it also flew to other countries of the Communist Bloc, including East Germany.Template:Sfn In 1972, the fleet was expanded with the Yakovlev Yak-40Template:Sfn and later with the Tupolev Tu-134, Belarus became recognized as the primary center of expertise for this aircraft within the Soviet Union.<ref name="Buckley"/> The 1980s saw the introduction of the Tupolev Tu-154.<ref name="History"/>

Average annual passengers carried (in thousands)Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1940 1946–1950 1951–1955 1956–1958 1959–1965 1966–1970 1981–1985
2.2 46.6 317.9 68.5 489.0 1,145.4 1,920.0

1992–2020

Upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus acquired a substantial fleet of aircraft, comprising 24 Tu-154s, 19 Tu-134s, 18 An-24s, 7 An-26s, and 8 Yak-40s. This fleet was initially part of the Belarusian Civil Aviation Association "Belavia".<ref name="Buckley">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="History"/>

In 1996, the association underwent reorganization, leading to the formation of the national airline, Belavia, which subsequently joined IATA the same year. Belavia consolidated its operations by merging with Minskavia in 1998 and Mogilevavia in 2000. In 2003, the fleet expanded with the Boeing 737-500, marking the first introduction of Western-manufactured aircraft into the Belarusian aviation fleet.<ref name="History"/>

Between 2003 and 2009, the airline saw its passenger numbers double and in 2009 handled just under 700,000 customers.<ref> Template:Cite news </ref>

Three leased Bombardier CRJ 100 aircraft were introduced on regional services from Minsk. The first one was delivered in February 2007, with the other two later in 2007. They directly replaced the aging Antonov An-24 and Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft.<ref>Airliner World, February 2007</ref> It was looking to lease two Bombardier CRJ-700s in 2010. Belavia had also planned to retire its remaining Tupolev Tu-154Ms by 2011 following he retirement of its last Tupolev Tu-134 in summer 2009 which was replaced by an ex-FlyLAL Boeing 737-500. On 27 June 2014, an order was announced for three Boeing 737-800 aircraft to be acquired directly by Belavia. The first of these was delivered in August 2016.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In August 2016, Belavia received their first aircraft with their new livery. This is the first re-branding since the company's founding in 1996 on its 20 years anniversary. The new livery was applied a brand new Boeing 737-800. The much newer 737s replaced the aging Tupolev Tu-154s. On 1 October 2016, Belavia retired their two remaining Tupolev Tu-154s from scheduled services as one of the last airlines worldwide to do so.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2019, the company employed nearly 1,900 people, and generated a turnover of 374 million euros with an operating result of 49 million euros. During this year it carried almost 4 million passengers, an increase of more than 15% compared to the 2018 figure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Several employees who participated in 2020 Belarusian protests were forced to leave their jobs.<ref>Бывшая сотрудница «Белавиа»: «В Жодинском ИВС нас называли проститутками и террористами»</ref>

Sanctions from 2021

On 24 May 2021, the British government suspended Belavia's operating permit in response to the Ryanair Flight 4978 incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The European Union and Ukraine subsequently banned Belarusian airliners from entering their airspace or using their airports, effectively banning Belavia which led to the suspension of vast parts of their route network.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Also in 2021, Belavia was accused of orchestrating the influx of illegal migrants during the Belarus–European Union border crisis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In September 2021 it has been reported that Belavia might face to lose the majority of its current fleet as its lessors might be no longer allowed to lease them out to Belarusian airlines as part of new embargoes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At this point Belavia owned 18 smaller, older aircraft, but had rented several modern jets from Western companies, with the Irish AerCap with six and the Danish Nordic Aviation Capital with seven aircraft being the most important suppliers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 16 November, the European Union confirmed the termination of all aircraft leases to Belarus by European lessors, which forces the airline to return half of their current fleet on short notice.<ref name="leaseembargo">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 2 December 2021, Belavia was added to the sanctions list of the European Union.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Switzerland joined the EU sanctions on 20 December.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 8 April 2022, the US Department of Commerce restricted flights on Belarusian owned or operated aircraft manufactured in the US along with Aeroflot, Aviastar, Azur Air, Rossiya and Utair from flying into Belarus or Russia.<ref name="usbroad"/> On 16 June 2022 the US broadened its restrictions on Belavia after violations of the sanctions' regime were detected. The effect of the restrictions is to ground the US-manufactured part of its fleet.<ref name="usbroad">Template:Cite news</ref>

In August 2023, the United States added Belavia to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> US sanctions were lifted in September 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In February 2024, Grodno Aviakompania, the only other passenger operator of the country, was merged and incorporated into Belavia by decree from the Ministry of Transport and Communications.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>


Revenue
(Br m)
Operating income
(Br m)
Net income
(Br m)
Total assets
(Br m)		 Employees Aircraft<ref name="museum"/>
Passengers
(m)		 References
2010 16 1.0 <ref name="passengers2011"/>
2011 17 1.0 <ref name="passengers2011">Template:Cite web</ref>
2012 20 1.3 <ref name="passengers2012">Template:Cite web</ref>
2013 22 1.6 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2014Template:Efn 325.0 24.5 18.8 1715 26 2.0 <ref name="minfin">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2015Template:Efn 410.8 2.1 1.5 1640 27 2.1 <ref name="minfin"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016 520.3 38.6 26.8 452.6 1625 26 2.5 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017 600.8 57.6 37.7 455.4 26 3.0 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2018 719.7 102.7 68.9 790.0 28 3.4 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="passengers_2019">Template:Cite web</ref>
2019 882.8 101.4 68.2 1,150.0 30 4.1 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020 519.8 -114.4 -92.1 1,311.2 1908 27 1.7 <ref name="finance_2020"/><ref name="neg">Template:Cite web</ref>

Belavia carried 2 million passengers in 2021 and 1.6 million in 2022.<ref name="neg"/>

Destinations

Template:Main Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Belavia operated flights to Asia, Europe, and Africa from its base at Minsk National Airport. In addition to scheduled destinations listed here, Belavia operates charter flights to leisure destinations and VIP charters. On the eve of the Ryanair Flight 4978 forced takedown incident, it served one domestic destination and 54 international destinations in 32 countries. As a result of the subsequent ban on Belarusian airliners entering the EU, UK and Ukrainian airspace, the airline is effectively stripped off all but twenty of these destinations: owing to the geographical constraints, access to Chișinău (Moldova), Kaliningrad (Russia), and Belgrade (Serbia) has become de facto impossible, despite these three non-EU member states not having issued any independent travel bans on Belavia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 28 May 2021, the airline confirmed the cancellation of flights that would otherwise be forced to pass through restricted airspace as well as their ongoing efforts to reroute the Istanbul, Turkey, connection, up to this point handled using a straight route over Ukraine, Moldova, Romania as well as Bulgaria's territorial waters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As of November 2025, the airline serves 16 countries on 28 routes.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Codeshare agreements

Belavia has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Template:As of, codeshare agreements with the following airlines are suspended or terminated:

Fleet

Current fleet

A Belavia Boeing 737-300
A Belavia Boeing 737-800
Belavia Embraer 195 in the airline's retro livery

Template:As of, Belavia operates the following aircraft:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="museum">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
B P E Total
Airbus A330-200 3 — 18 — 263 281 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Boeing 737-300 2 — — — 148 148
Boeing 737-800 5 — — — 189 189
Boeing 737 MAX 8 1 — — —
Embraer 175 1 — 12 — 64 76
Embraer 195 4 — 11 — 96 107 EW-400PO in HC Dinamo Minsk livery<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Total 16 —

Additionally, Belarusian government which owns Belavia operated at least three other aircraft: Boeing 737-800,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Boeing 767-300, and Bombardier CRJ200.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2021, Belavia acquired its first Boeing 737 MAX 8, one of five it had ordered; however, the remaining aircraft were not delivered.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:As of, Belavia had 13 aircraft.<ref name="zerkalo"/>

In June 2025, it introduced three Airbus A330-200.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Historic fleet

Belavia Retired Fleet<ref name="History">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="museum"/>
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Antonov An-2Template:Sfn
Antonov An-10
Antonov An-12 1962Template:Sfn
Antonov An-24 18Template:Efn 1967Template:Sfn 2009
Antonov An-26 7Template:Efn 2002
Boeing 737-500 6 2003 2021<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="zerkalo">Template:Cite web</ref>
Bombardier CRJ100/200 5 2007 2020
Embraer 195-E2 3 2019 2021 Returned to lessor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ilyushin Il-12 1951Template:Sfn
Ilyushin Il-14Template:Sfn
Lisunov Li-2Template:Sfn
Polikarpov Po-2 1934Template:Sfn
Tupolev Tu-124
Tupolev Tu-134 19Template:Efn 2009
Tupolev Tu-154 24Template:Efn 1983<ref name="History"/> 2016 One used as training mock-up<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Yakovlev Yak-12Template:Sfn
Yakovlev Yak-40 8Template:Efn 1972Template:Sfn 2005

Incidents and accidents

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

Template:Reflist

Bibliography

Template:Refbegin Template:Cite book Template:Refend

Template:Commons category-inline

Template:Portal bar Template:Airlines of Belarus Template:IATA members Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Belavia&oldid=513135"