Exclusive-EU to blacklist Belarus airline ahead of economic sanctions, diplomats say

FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 737-800 plane of Belarusian state carrier Belavia takes off at the Domodedovo Airport outside Moscow, Russia May 28, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is preparing sanctions on Belarus' national airline and around a dozen top Belarusian aviation officials, three diplomats said, a stop-gap measure before economic sanctions following the forced landing of a passenger plane.

The proposed asset freezes and travel bans are part of a package of new sanctions on Belarus from EU states, which are outraged that a Ryanair flight was pressed to land in Minsk on May 23 to arrest a dissident journalist and his girlfriend.