Belarusian national carrier Belavia has faced sanctions from the United States and European Union for quite some time, due to a combination of the “hijacking” of a Ryanair flight, along with the country’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Well, if Belarusian media is to be believed, these sanctions are now being lifted, so the country’s airline can once again buy planes from Boeing…
US reportedly lifts sanctions on Belarusian carrier Belavia
Belarusian state owned national news agency BelTA is reporting that the United States Department of Commerce has granted Boeing a license to resume full cooperation with Belavia. This was announced by Valentin Rybakov, the Belarusian representative to the United Nations. If true, this means that Belavia can once again purchase planes and parts directly from Boeing.
This all seems to be related to a visit to Belarus by an American delegation in September, where the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, met with US Special Envoy John Cole. This meeting included a larger lifting of sanctions. It also comes at a time when we’re seeing the Trump administration increasingly lifting sanctions on Russia in relation to the invasion of Ukraine.
Sanctions being lifted makes life easier for Belavia
In 2021, the United States imposed sanctions on Belarus, after the country engaged in what was referred to as a state sponsored hijacking. A Ryanair Boeing 737 was flying between Greece and Lithuania, and as the plane approached Belarusian airspace, an air traffic controller claimed there was a bomb onboard, and that the plane needed to divert to Belarus.
As it turned out, an opponent of the Belarusian government was onboard, so the real motive with this was to have him arrested. Obviously this violates all sorts of international laws and aviation treaties, which is why action was taken against the country. Then in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, additional sanctions were imposed against Belarus, given its support for Russia.
Obviously having sanctions imposed on you by both the United States and European Union makes it challenging to buy new aircraft, given the aircraft manufacturing duopoly we have (unless you consider the aircraft manufacturers in China and Russia to be competitors).
So most of Belavia’s aircraft acquisitions in recent times have been smuggled into the country using shady middlemen. For example, in 2025, Belavia acquired Airbus A330s through an imaginary Gambian airline, as one does.
Bottom line
Belavia can reportedly once again buy aircraft and parts from Boeing, after the United States lifted sanctions that were imposed around five years ago, when the country hijacked a Ryanair plane. This easing of sanctions comes as part of a larger reversal by the Trump administration, as it takes less of a stance against Russia and Belarus.
It’ll be interesting to see what comes of this, and if Belarus places some big Boeing aircraft order in the near future…
What do you make of the US lifting sanctions on Belarus on the airline front?
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