jobs. Sanctions On 24 May 2021, the British government suspended Belavia's operating permit in response to the Ryanair Flight 4978 incident. The European Union and Ukraine subsequently banned Belarusian airliners from entering their airspace or using their airports, effectively banning Belavia which led to the suspension of vast parts of their route network. Also in 2021, Belavia was accused of orchestrating the influx of illegal migrants during 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis. In September 2021 it has been reported that Belavia might face to lose the majority of its current fleet as its lessors might be no longer allowed to lease them out to Belarusian airlines as part of new embargoes. At this point Belavia owned 18 smaller, older aircraft, but had rented several modern jets from western companies, with the Irish AerCap with 6 and the Denmark-based Nordic Aviation Capital with 7 aircraft being the most important suppliers. On 16 November, the European Union confirmed the termination of all aircraft leases to Belarus by European lessors, which forces the airline to return half of their current fleet on short notice. On 2 December 2021, Belavia was added to the sanctions list of the European Union. Switzerland joined the EU sanctions on 20 December. On April 8, 2022, the US Department of Commerce restricted flights on Belarusian owned or operated aircraft manufactured in the US along with Aeroflot, Aviastar, Azur Air, Rossiya and Utair from flying into Belarus or Russia. It seems the US wants to reclaim ownership of the intellectual property. On 16 June 2022 the US broadened its restrictions on Belavia after violations of the sanctions' regime were detected. The effect of the restrictions is to ground the US-manufactured part of its fleet. Destinations Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Belavia operated flights to Asia, Europe, and Africa from its base at Minsk National Airport. In addition to scheduled destinations listed here, Belavia operates charter flights to leisure destinations and VIP charters. On the eve of the Ryanair Flight 4978 forced takedown incident, it served one domestic destination and 54 international destinations in 32 countries. As a result of the subsequent ban on Belarusian airliners entering the EU, UK and Ukrainian airspace, the airline is effectively stripped off all but twenty of these destinations: owing to the geographical constraints, access to Chișinău (Moldova), Kaliningrad (Russia), and Belgrade (Serbia) has become de facto impossible, despite these three non-EU member states