Vilnius and Kaunas airports suspended operations due to weather balloons from Belarus

On the evening of October 24, Lithuania suspended operations at two border crossing points with Belarus: “Shalchininkai” and “Medyninkai”. The restrictions will remain in effect until 12:00 on Saturday, October 25.

According to government sources, this decision was made based on the recommendations of the National Security Commission regarding a new incident involving smuggled weather balloons, which, as in previous cases, violated Lithuanian airspace from the Belarusian side.

Before closing the border crossing points, Lithuania also suspended operations at Vilnius and Kaunas airports. According to the Ministry of Transport, air traffic in Vilnius was stopped at 20:31, and in Kaunas at 20:36, and the restrictions were in effect until 02:00 on Saturday.

The National Crisis Management Center (NKVC) recorded dozens of navigation points indicating weather balloons moving in the Druskininkai–Shalchininkai direction. Police detected several such objects in the sky, but failed to intercept them.

This incident affected seven flights – four from Vilnius and three from Kaunas. Earlier, law enforcement officers noted that such cases are related to cigarette smuggling, which is organized from the territory of Belarus using balloons. This is the second such case in a week, which led to the closure of airspace and border crossings.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene noted that the primary purpose of these measures is the safety of citizens and economic pressure on the Belarusian regime:

“We hope that these decisions will be tangible both for smugglers and for the Lukashenko regime, which allows them to act with impunity.”

She added that the National Security Commission will meet again next week to assess the effectiveness of the measures taken.

On October 22, dozens of weather balloons led to the suspension of operations at Vilnius Airport, with about 30 flights canceled, and the border with Belarus was temporarily closed at night.

Lithuania, which shares a 679-kilometer border with Belarus, has tightened controls in recent years after the 2021 migration crisis. To combat smuggling, especially cigarettes, the border fence erected has forced smugglers to often resort to the use of balloons and drones.

The Lithuanian government has already stated its readiness to completely close the border with Belarus in the event of a repeat of such incidents.

Recall that on September 10, ten pieces of Russian drone debris were recorded in Poland, most of which were found near the border with Belarus.