Delhi Airport – the largest in India and one of the top 10 by traffic handled in the world got another connection as Belarussian national carrier Belavia started its weekly flight yesterday. The carrier operates its once a week service with the sole B737 MAX8 that it has in its fleet.
The airline is operating as per below timings
B2757 MSQ2025 – 0535(+1) DEL
B2758 DEL0655 – 1140MSQ
The departure from Delhi is on Fridays, while that from Delhi is on Saturdays. The inaugural as well as subsequent flights will be operated by the sole B737 MAX8 in its fleet, registered EW-528PA. The aircraft is configured with 12 Business and 162 Economy class seats and is a four year old aircraft.
Minsk is the capital of Belarus and Minsk airport is the largest airport in the country, acting as a hub for Belavia as well as key gateway for international carriers operating to Belarus.
The story of MAX8 with Belavia
Belavia started focusing on fleet modernisation after operating former Soviet aircraft after the fall of the Soviet Union and gaining independence in 1991. As part of the modernisation it opted for the B737-800s in mid 2010s. Subsequently the airline signed up for the MAX8 with lessor AerCap.
In April 2021, the airline took delivery of its first MAX. The very next month, Belarus was at the receiving end of sanctions following the RyanAir flight 4978 incident. Subsequent war in Europe, Belarus siding with Russia and sanctions meant that fleet modernisation took a back seat for the airline and instead it was left with a lesser fleet and limited destinations. The network shrunk to countries which formed the former Soviet Union and few others which are not part of the EU.
Belarus – India
India and Belarus have ties going back from 1991, when Belarus declared independence. The embassies at each other’s capital cities came in much later. India established its embassy at Minsk in 1992 while Belarus opened its embassy in Delhi in 1998.
The trade between Belarus and India comprises India exporting Pharma products, while Belarus exporting Potash fertilisers, Fibreglass, nitrile compounds amongst others.
Network Thoughts
Delhi is an interesting addition to Belavia’s network. The airline also sells a code-share flight via Tashkent with the Tashkent – Delhi leg on Uzbekistan Airways. Minsk airport is small and caters to a limited number of airlines and passengers. Its efforts to open up to the world have always swung between
From September 20, the airline will introduce a second weekly frequency with departure from Minsk on Wednesdays and Departure from Delhi on Thursdays in addition to the current one.
To celebrate the launch of this flight, events were held at both Minsk and Delhi where the diplomatic missions made statements about ties between the two countries and potential of this flight.
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it is always so interesting to read from you dear Ameya.