Belarusian flag carrier Belavia has turned to Gambian airline, Magic Air, to boost its depleted fleet after years of crippling Western sanctions, according to reports.

Belavia is in the process of signing a contract to buy three planes (Airbus A330 aircraft – which can typically carry around 250 passengers each) from Magic Air. 

The planes are already in the Belarusian capital Minsk and were all registered to Magic Air when they landed in Minsk on August 17, 2024, according to Reuters. 

Belarus is under Western sanctions over human rights violations and support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

While Western sanctions on Belarus and Russia have sought to cut access to aircraft parts, many countries, including Gambia, have not signed up to those restrictions and have no obligation to enforce them.

Magic Air, which has no online presence, is a little-known private company that operates in aircraft leasing and airline services, according to a Reuters review of the Gambian justice ministry’s companies registry.

Gambia’s Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) told Reuters the planes were sold to a buyer from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ferried to Minsk and then removed from the Gambian register on August 19, 2024.

“The GCAA received a notification from Magic Air that the aircraft were sold to a UAE company and that they would like to ferry the aircraft to Minsk Airport and de-register them accordingly,” GCAA Director General Fansu Bojang told Reuters.