Vilnius airport halts operations all night due to meteo balloons from Belarus

According to the report, as a result of the imposed airspace restrictions, three flights were canceled and nine were diverted to the airports of Kaunas and Riga. The departure and arrival times of 10 flights were also adjusted.

More than three thousand passengers and 22 flights were affected.

At first, it was announced that the airspace restrictions would remain in place until 02:15 on Saturday, but later this period was extended several times.

The airspace restrictions were lifted at around 07:03.

According to preliminary data, the airport’s operations were suspended due to detected navigation markers characteristic of meteorological probes moving in the direction of the airport.

The head of the National Crisis Management Center, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, stated that in recent days Lithuania's airspace has seen exceptional activity from contraband balloons launched from Belarus.

According to preliminary data, more than 60 markers were detected.

Belarus' provocations in Lithuania

It will be recalled that on November 4 an unidentified drone was spotted near Vilnius Airport. Against this backdrop, the airport was closed for several hours.

In October, balloons carrying contraband and launched from Belarusian territory were also detected in Lithuania’s airspace.

It also became known that a drone operator who flew near Vilnius Airport was detained in Lithuania.

The night of November 24 was also described as “the most tense” due to a massive launch of balloons from Belarusian territory.

The country has called on the EU to respond to the provocations.