Cracked windshield forces UAE-bound Belavia flight to return to Minsk

November 9, BPN. A Boeing 737-800 of the Belarusian flagship carrier Belavia, en route to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, returned to Minsk due to a cracked cockpit windshield, Belavia press office reported.

The plane carrying 158 passengers landed at the Minsk airport at 7:24 a.m. The passengers’ health and safety were not under any threat and a new aircraft was provided, it added.

Belavia is currently under Western sanctions over accusations of complicity in the illegal 2021 migrant crisis and the forced landing of a Ryanair flight. This summer, the U.S. prohibited the state-run airline from using American parts or equipment for maintaining its fleet.