Belarus Balloons paralyze operations at airports in Lithuania
In Lithuania, flight operations at Vilnius and Kaunas airports have been temporarily suspended following the sighting of weather balloons. The balloons flew in the direction of the two largest airports in the Baltic EU and NATO country, according to the Ministry of Transport in Vilnius and the airport operators.
25.10.2025, 15:33
25.10.2025, 15:34
SDA
The balloons are usually used by smugglers to illegally send cigarettes from the authoritarian neighboring country of Belarus to Lithuania. It initially remained unclear how many of them entered the airspace. Border guard chief Rustamas Liubajevas said on the radio that so far four balloons with smuggled cigarettes have been intercepted, which usually rise almost vertically and cross the border at high altitude.
According to the airport operators, a total of 40 flights and more than 6,000 passengers were affected by the closure, which was imposed at around 8.30 p.m. on Friday at both airports. Flight operations were resumed on Saturday night.
Not the first incident with balloons
Due to the incident, Lithuania's border guards also temporarily closed the two border crossings with Belarus in Medininkai and Salcininkai, which were still open. The precautionary decision, taken at around 9.30 p.m., was justified by the security situation. Border traffic and controls were resumed at 12.00 noon on Saturday.
Vilnius Airport had already been temporarily paralyzed by balloons on Wednesday night - it was the third incident this month. According to Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic, there are no indications to date that the balloons sent by air from Belarus were deliberately used to damage critical infrastructure or objects important to national security.
In recent weeks, drone sightings at several major European airports have caused considerable disruption to air traffic. There have been repeated flight cancellations and large-scale airspace closures - including in Munich and Frankfurt.
