BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Monday, 11th April 2005

Belavia opens new gateway to Eastern Europe

Kevin Feddy

MINSK, the capital of Belarus, is to become the latest Eastern European city with a direct air link to Manchester.

National carrier Belavia is to start a weekly service in June. The flights will operate until the end of August but it is believed the airline may re-introduce the service at a later date.

Belavia will use a Boeing 737-500 on the route, with business and economy class seats. A spokesman said the airline is targeting businesspeople from the north west as well as leisure travellers.

The flights will depart from Manchester at 11.55am, arriving at 17.10 local time.

Manchester Airport managing director John Spooner said: "The region has quickly grown to be among our most popular destinations.

"The choice of destinations in this region continues to grow, as airlines look to serve the growing demand for travel."

Belarus, a republic with a population of 10.3 million, borders Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia as well as Russia.

The country's products include peat, agricultural machinery, glass, textiles, leather, salt, fertilisers and electrical goods.

Other cities in Central and Eastern Europe with direct links to Manchester established in recent months include Riga, in Latvia and Moscow. Flights to those destinations are operated by Air Baltic and Transaero respectively.

No-frills carrier SkyEurope has started services to Krakow in Poland and is to begin flights to Slovakia's Bratislava in June.

Estonia Air is to launch flights to the capital city, Tallinn, next month.

Source:

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/travel/news/s/154/154309_belavia_opens_new_gateway_to_eastern_europe.html