Belavia eyes Airbus A330's imported via Gambia
Belavia (B2, Minsk National) is in advanced negotiations to add three A330-200s currently stored at Minsk National under Gambian registrations assigned to "Magic Air", a company which previously intermediated in the delivery of an A320-200 to sanctioned Cham Wings Airlines (SAW, Damascus), Reuters reported.
The Belarusian flag carrier tentatively plans to induct the aircraft into service during the Summer 2025 season.
C5-TAB (msn 525), C5-TAC (msn 509), and C5-TAD (msn 491) were ferried from their previous storage locations at Muscat and Cairo International to Minsk National on August 19, 2024. They reportedly arrived in a decrepit state, requiring extensive maintenance. Neither has been active since the ferry flight to Minsk.
The three aircraft are of 2002-2003 vintage and were first delivered to Emirates. Onur Air took them over in 2017-2018 and was the aircraft's last commercial operator. They were subsequently re-registered in the Cayman Islands as VP-CBE, VP-CBD, and VP-CBB, respectively.
In 2024, Magic Air ferried A320 C5-TAA (msn 2600) from Istanbul Atatürk via Minsk to Damascus. The aircraft subsequently entered the fleet of Cham Wings as YK-BAC and continues to serve with the Syrian airline.
Belavia did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
If confirmed, the transaction would represent the single largest addition of new aircraft to either the Russian- or Belarusian-registered fleet since the imposition of Western sanctions on the countries in early 2022.
Belavia's current fleet comprises two B737-300s, one B737-8, five B737-800s, one E175, and four E195s. The airline does not have any widebodies in its passenger fleet but operates one B767-300ER (alongside one B737-800(BBJ) and one Challenger 850) for the government.
