Belarus Reinstated Flight Restrictions in Southern Border Area

On October 1, the Belarusian government will re-introduce a civil aviation restriction zone in the south of the country.

The Belaruski Gayun monitoring group reported on this.

This follows the cancellation of NOTAM O0380/24 on September 26, which had been in effect since February 24, 2022.

It was scheduled to last until September 30, 2024.

The early termination of this NOTAM led to speculation that it might have been lifted due to forest fires in southern Belarus. However, the restriction did not apply to aircraft from the Ministry of Emergencies, which are utilized for firefighting and sanitary flights.

It turned out that the new restriction zone would be reintroduced on October 1.

NOTAMN O0597/24 states that the restriction zone for flights of all types of civilian aircraft and UAVs at altitudes up to 19,800 meters in the south of the country has been extended from 00:00 on October 1 to 23:59 on December 31, 2024.

As long as the flight restriction zone is not in place, Belarusian civil aviation can theoretically fly over the border areas, but such routes are unlikely to be approved.

Belarusian airspace and Russian missiles

Through this zone, Russian air assets constantly enter Ukrainian airspace.

At the beginning of September, it was reported that the Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles that attacked Lviv on September 4, entered Ukrainian airspace via Belarus.

The missiles traveled approximately a hundred kilometers over the Gomel region of Belarus, passing through the Bragin and Narovlya districts.

In total, according to the Belaruski Gayun monitoring group, at least 721 missiles have entered Ukraine from Belarusian airspace.