On Wednesday, the Lithuanian government banned Belarusian air carriers from entering the country’s airspace.
The ban will come into effect at 03:00 local time on May 27 and will primarily affect Belarus’ flagship carrier Belavia, which suspended flights to Lithuania on Monday.
"The European Council said in its conclusions very clearly that Belarusian airlines should be banned from using EU airspace," Transport Minister Marius Skuodis told the cabinet.
Read more: Will flight ban trap Belarusian dissidents in hands of Lukashenko?
The EU Aviation Safety Agency on Tuesday recommended that all EU-based airlines avoid Belarusian airspace.
Lithuania was among the first countries to prohibit any flights to or from its airports via Belarusian airspace as of Tuesday.
Belavia has already been banned from flying to France, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Sweden, Ukraine, and the UK.
The ban comes in response to the forced grounding of a Vilnius-bound Ryanair flight from Athens in order to arrest a Belarusian dissident and his partner.
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