Belarus airline chief decries airspace restrictions by EU states

FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737-800 plane of Belarusian state carrier Belavia is seen at the Domodedovo Airport outside Moscow, Russia May 28, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of Belarusian national airline Belavia on Saturday condemned as "despicable" the decision by numerous EU countries to impose airspace restrictions on the carrier following the forced landing of a passenger jet in Minsk.

Most of Belarus's neighbours and many other European nations have banned Belavia flights amid outrage over Sunday's forced landing of a Ryanair jet en route to Lithuania from Greece and the arrest of a dissident journalist on board.