page_title: Belavia
section_title: Early years
hierarchical_section_title: Belavia / History / Early years
caption_attribution_description: Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎: Цэнтральны офіс кампаніі «Белавія», Менск, Беларусь. - 220004, Мінск, вуліца Няміга, 14 English: Belavia Headquarters, Minsk, Belarus. - 14, Nemiga str., Minsk, Belarus, 220004 Русский: Центральный офис компании «Белавиа» - 220004, Минск, улица Немига, 14 Deutsch: Der Sitz von Belavia - Ul. Nemiga 14, 220004 Minsk Español: Sede de Belavia - 220004, calle Nemiga, 14, Minsk, Belarús Français&#160;: Siège de Belavia - 220004, Minsk, rue Nemiga, 14 Italiano: Sede di Belavia - 220004, Minsk, via Nemiga, 14
context_page_description: Belavia Belarusian Airlines, legally Joint Stock Company "Belavia Belarusian Airlines", is the flag carrier and national airline of Belarus, headquartered in Minsk. The state-owned company had, as of 2007, 1,017 employees. Belavia serves a network of routes between European cities and the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as some Middle East destinations from its base at Minsk National Airport.
context_section_description: On 7 November 1933, the first Belarusian air terminal opened in Minsk. In the next spring, 3 Po-2 aircraft landed in Minsk. They became the first aircraft of the Belarusian air fleet. In 1936 the first regular air route between Minsk and Moscow was established. In the summer of 1940, the Belarusian civil aviation group was officially founded.
  In 1964, the Tupolev Tu-124 aircraft received Belarusian registration. In 1973, the then-new Tupolev Tu-134A began operating in Belarus. In 1983 Belarusian aviation started flying the new Tupolev Tu-154 planes.
  The airline was officially founded on 5 March 1996 following a resolution of the Belarusian Government "On the restructuring of air transport of the Republic, Belarus", when the local Aeroflot division was nationalized and renamed. Between then and 1998 Belavia opened regular routes to Beijing, Istanbul, Larnaca, London, Prague, and Rome. In 1998, Belavia merged with MinskAvia, acquiring several Antonov An-24, Antonov An-26 and Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft in addition to existing fleet of Tupolev Tu-134 and Tupolev Tu-154 airplanes.
caption: Belavia's head office in Minsk.
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