Flights at Lithuania’s main airport were disrupted over the weekend due to incidents involving suspected balloon sightings believed to be linked to cigarette smuggling from neighboring Belarus, reports BritPanorama.
Air traffic at Vilnius Airport was suspended on Saturday at 9:35 p.m. and reopened at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, resulting in four cancellations and seven diverted flights. The previous night, a similar disruption led to ten cancellations and four diversions at both Vilnius and Kaunas airports.
This incident followed other disruptions earlier in the week and has prompted authorities to close Lithuania’s border crossings with Belarus for several hours. The balloon sightings have consistently raised concerns about smuggling activities.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė indicated that Lithuania might need to consider long-term border closures with Belarus and is exploring harsher penalties for smugglers. A meeting of the National Security Commission has been scheduled for Monday to evaluate potential actions. The government has issued strict warnings to Belarus regarding activities that could disrupt significant facilities like airports.
Since the initial balloon sightings in 2023, Lithuania’s border guard has reported that these balloons have only been used for smuggling illegal cigarettes, highlighting the ongoing challenge of transnational smuggling operations.
Lithuania, a member of both the European Union and NATO, is situated on the eastern flank of the Western alliance, bordered by Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus.
