Two new aircraft for Belarusian air carrier Belavia soon

In the near future the Belarusian air carrier Belavia will get two new aircraft. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko was informed about the acquisition at the government conference held in the National Airport Minsk on 15 April to discuss the airport’s development prospects, the press service of the head of state told BelTA.

Speaking about the current state of the civil aviation industry, Belarusian Transport and Communications Minister Anatoly Sivak remarked that the number of passengers and the volume of freight traffic were on the rise and necessitated an increase in the number of aircraft. Two new aircraft will be delivered to Minsk in late April and in May. Plans have been made to lease two more aircraft from Ukraine in order to cover applications for charter flights.

The Minister also informed about the development of the area around the airport. In his words, experts are now evaluating a detailed development layout for the area.

Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that croplands must not be used for development purposes. “You know my attitude to forests and croplands. Croplands are a priority,” said the head of state. He instructed Minsk Oblast Governor Semyon Shapiro and Minsk City Mayor Nikolai Ladutko to look into the matter in detail. He added that everything is to be done in a compact European manner. Chairman of the State Control Committee Alexander Yakobson was instructed to keep an eye on the progress.

“Cleanliness and order are our brands. It is what Belarus is associated with,” added the head of state.

Participants of the government conference also discussed the transportation of passengers to the National Airport Minsk. At present passengers can reach the airport by bus from Minsk’s central bus station. The bus schedule is coordinated with the flight schedule. Plans have been made to enable railway service to the airport from November 2014. Belarusian Railways has already acquired three new-type trains for the line. The travel time will be under 50 minutes. Since the railway is a bit far from the airport, a bus will help passengers cover the distance of about 500m to reach the airport. The bus ticket is part of the train ticket’s cost. According to the Minister, it is the most affordable option at present because the construction of a tunnel with a moving walkway inside will require considerable investments.

Alexander Lukashenko agreed that it is not a good idea to start the work that is doomed to failure tomorrow.