Turkish Airlines denies fueling Belarus-Poland migration crisis

After EU officials threatened to blacklist airlines facilitating travel for asylum-seekers amassing at the Poland-Belarus border, Turkish Airlines denied links to the bloc’s latest migration crisis.
Police check approaching vehicles at a checkpoint along a road leading toward the border with Belarus on Nov. 10, 2021, near Kuznica, Poland.
Police check approaching vehicles at a checkpoint along a road leading toward the border with Belarus on Nov. 10, 2021, near Kuznica, Poland. Poland has amassed troops along its border with Belarus to repel a growing population of migrants, mostly from the Middle East, transiting through Belarus with the apparent support of that country's authorities. Poland, the European and NATO have accused Belarus of orchestrating the crisis, enabling asylum-seekers to use Belarus as a waypoint on their journey to claim asylum in EU countries. - Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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Diego Cupolo
@diegocupolo

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s flagship carrier, Turkish Airlines, denied claims it was helping fuel irregular migration to the European Union in a statement Wednesday amid a growing border crisis between Belarus and Poland with international implications.

EU officials Monday threatened to ban airlines over their alleged roles in facilitating Minsk-bound travel for asylum-seekers, which Belarusian authorities have reportedly been guiding toward the Polish border. The carriers that could be targeted include Turkish Airlines, the United Arab Emirates’ FlyDubai, Belarus’ Belavia and other commercial airlines.

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