Vitebsk Airport is operating in standby mode and is ready to accept special flights from Poland at any time

April 11, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The Vitebsk airport is operating in a standby mode and is ready to receive special flights from Poland at any time. This was announced to a BELTA correspondent by Vladimir Novatsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee. In the evening of April 10, two charters landed at Vitebsk Airport. About 100 people were involved in receiving them. These included airport staff, transport services, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, ambulance workers, customs officers, traffic police, border guards, and representatives of the Vitebsk Regional and City Executive Committees. For safety reasons, 3 Ministry of Emergency Situations vehicles and 5 ambulances were on duty on the runway. In addition, a catering point was set up in the airport's administrative building, and a VIP lounge was prepared for guests' rest. The Vitebsk Airport received the first special flight at 6:43 PM. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, brother of the deceased president, arrived as part of a Polish delegation of 18 people. The group was received without visas under a simplified procedure: border guards completed passport control within a few minutes directly on the plane. After that, the delegation members boarded a MAZ bus and, accompanied by two patrol cars and an ambulance, headed for the Smolensk region. The next charter arrived at the airport an hour later. It carried 28 people, including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. After passing passport control, the second group also proceeded to the crash site. Three minibuses, two executive cars, two patrol cars, and an ambulance were used for their transportation. At the Russian border, all transport remained to await the return of the delegation members who had gone to the Smolensk region to the site of the plane crash, in order to take them back to Vitebsk Airport upon their return. Comfortable conditions were also created for the pilots of the Polish flights. They were provided with communication with Moscow, as well as opportunities for rest and meals. In addition, the Belarusian side organized refueling for the Polish aircraft. Vladimir Novatsky also reported that Vitebsk Airport had planned to receive about 130-150 Polish citizens, so additional transport units and operational service employees were on standby to start work immediately. Hospitals in the regional center were also ready to provide necessary assistance to the arriving Polish citizens. Currently, Vitebsk remains ready to provide any assistance to the Polish side on an urgent basis, emphasized the First Deputy Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee. -0-