Since 2021 the main Belarusian air company “Belavia” has been mass layoffs of people for political reasons. Pilots, flight attendants and technical staff are being cut. Some of them have been behind bars.
“Zerkalo” talked to a source familiar with the situation about what has been happening at the airline in recent years and how repression affects flight safety.
According to the source, starting in 2021 “Belavia” regularly fires people because of their political position. The cuts affected pilots, technicians and flight attendants. Some of them were detained and imprisoned for several days.
In 2023, the repression continued. Several people were fired – among them were pilots, co-pilots and even captains.
The air company’s employees, who actively participated in the protests in the summer and autumn of 2020, were mainly affected by the cuts. The source says that at that time many of his colleagues opposed election fraud and violence by the security forces. Even the “Belavia” trade union supported the employees.