The Polish airline Lot refused to board the Russian tennis player

The Polish airline Lot refused to board the Russian tennis player

The Polish state airline Lot refused to take on board a Russian tennis player in accordance with the restrictions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the airline said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday, informs

Vitalia Dyachenko, whose name was not disclosed by the airline in its statement, was denied boarding on Monday’s Lot flight from Cairo, as she was on her way to Calvy, Corsica, via Warsaw and Nice, to play in the tournament.

The airline confirmed to CNN that it “cannot accept a citizen of the Russian Federation on its flight”, referring to the restrictions imposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland during the Covid-19 pandemic and the rules updated in March 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.

“The provisions of the regulation introduce restrictions when crossing individual borders, including at airports, for citizens of the Russian Federation coming from outside the Schengen zone,” the airline said in a statement.

Dyachenko told CNN that she was unable to reach her destination after she was denied a flight because of her Russian passport, and now she has returned to Moscow.

According to Reuters, the 32-year-old athlete also said that she tried to buy a ticket from the German airline Lufthansa, but was told that she could enter the Schengen area only through Spain, which issued her a visa.

Tennis continues to host Russian and Belarusian athletes at international competitions, despite the initial recommendation of the International Olympic Committee’s executive committee to ban them in February 2022.

In January, the IOC noted a multi-stage plan for the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the upcoming 2024 Summer Games in Paris and 2026 Winter Games in Milan. The IOC plan met with criticism from the United States, Canada and a number of European countries, including Great Britain, Germany and Poland.

According to the latest recommendations of the IOC, published in March, athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport must perform only as individual neutral athletes and meet all anti-doping requirements. Those who support the war or work under contract with the military or national security services may not participate in the competition.

IOC President Thomas Bach defended the latest recommendations, citing tennis as an example of the fact that the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes “works” despite the war. Bach also criticized some European governments for the “negative reaction” to the position of the organization in relation to Russia.

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