Vilnius Airport resumes operations after temporary shutdown

November 20, Pozirk. Air traffic at Vilnius Airport was suspended for roughly two hours on November 20 after authorities detected weather balloons in the area.

Operations at the airport have since resumed.

Flights arriving from Warsaw and Helsinki were cancelled, while incoming flights from Istanbul and Stockholm were delayed by about two hours.

This was the first time Vilnius Airport halted operations since Lithuania reopened the Medininkai–Kamienny Łoh and Šalčininkai–Bieniakoni border crossings on the Lithuanian–Belarusian border at midnight (1 a.m. Minsk time) earlier the same day.

Lithuania had initially planned to keep all border crossings closed from October 29 to November 30 in response to repeated airspace violations involving balloons launched from Belarus.

Tensions between Belarus and Lithuania escalated in mid-October due to cigarette-smuggling balloons, prompting Lithuanian authorities to temporarily close the border on several occasions and suspend operations at Vilnius Airport, which lies close to the Belarusian border.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said earlier this week that border guards had recorded fewer incursions involving weather balloons used for cigarette smuggling.

Politics Security

Politics, Security

Air traffic suspended over Vilnius Airport as new air balloons spotted

November 20, Pozirk. Vilnius Airport suspended air traffic at 6:38 p.m. on November 20 after services detected weather balloons, Delfi reported, citing the National Crisis Management Center. This was the first time the airport halted operations since Lithuania reopened the …

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