The Belarusian state-owned airline continues to modernise its fleet with Western-built aircraft, despite the international sanctions that have been in place against the country for several years.
The first aircraft from the ‘Gambian’ batch to enter service was EW-548pa, later joined by EW-546pa. Belavia has now commenced scheduled flights with the third aircraft from this batch – the EW-547pa.
The aircraft arrived in Belarus in early June. The aviation website Skyliner Aviation noted that two Boeing 737–800s belonging to the Ukrainian airline SkyUp and one belonging to SkyUp Europe in the UAE had their registrations changed to Gambian, after which they were transported to Minsk.
Two of these aircraft are 12 years old, and the third is 13 years old. As the aviation channel ‘Ot Vinta’ points out, this is a perfectly acceptable age for operating such aircraft.
Unlike the two previous Boeing aircraft from this batch, which originally entered service in a neutral white livery, EW-547pa immediately began flying in Belavia’s corporate livery.
Thus, all three Boeing 737–800s that arrived in Belarus in early June have now been put into service.
Belavia, Belarus’s national airline, continues to expand and modernise its fleet. Back in November 2025, Belarus’s Minister of Transport, Alexei Lyakhnovich, spoke of plans to bring in several new Boeing aircraft in time for the summer season.
This is not the first time that Belarus has purchased aircraft from world-renowned companies via the African state of The Gambia.
Since December 2021, the state-owned airline Belavia has been subject to EU sanctions, and since August 2023, to US sanctions. A scheme to circumvent the sanctions, involving a ‘front company’, was used to import Airbus aircraft into Belarus.
On 4 November 2025, the US partially lifted sanctions against Belavia. Two aircraft that may be linked to Alexander Lukashenko were removed from the sanctions list, as well as a helicopter belonging to the company ‘Slavkali’, which Lukashenko is also believed to have used. Other countries have not lifted their restrictions on Belarusian aviation.
The Gambia is not subject to Western aviation sanctions and has not undertaken any obligations to comply with them; therefore, the country serves as a convenient jurisdiction for circumventing the restrictions. Previously, for example, some vessels flying the Gambian flag were used as a ‘shadow fleet’ to export Russian oil in order to circumvent sanctions.
Reuters, which has also investigated this matter, received a statement from the Gambian Civil Aviation Department regarding the aircraft that ended up in Minsk. According to officials, three Airbus A330–200s were deregistered in The Gambia on 19 August 2024, two days after arriving in Belarus, allegedly because Magic Air had sold them to an unnamed company from the UAE.
The European corporation Airbus told Reuters that it strictly adheres to international sanctions, but is unable to monitor the sale of second-hand aircraft or influence third countries that violate sanctions.