BEIRUT, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Beirut airport on Wednesday instructed all airlines operating at the airport to restrict direct flight to Belarus, citing the migrant crisis at the Belarus-Poland border.
Trips from Lebanon to Belarus should be restricted to Lebanese citizens with visas or residency permits of Belarus, Belarusian citizens, and foreigners who have residency permits in Belarus, said Fadi el-Hassan, director general of civil aviation at the Beirut airport, in a statement.
The new instructions came as some people were travelling from Beirut in an attempt to enter the EU member states with the help of smuggling networks, the statement noted.
Earlier this month, European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas urged Lebanon to contribute to the EU's efforts to curb the smuggling of migrants from Belarus to the EU countries. Enditem
