{"id":204698,"date":"2026-09-22T12:29:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T09:29:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/204698\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T12:29:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T09:29:32","slug":"vilnius-airport-halts-operations-over-cigarette-smuggling-balloons-from-belarus","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/204698\/","title":{"rendered":"Vilnius airport halts operations over cigarette-smuggling balloons from Belarus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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September 22, <\/strong>Pozirk.<\/strong> <\/em>The Vilnius International Airport had to suspend operations for more than three hours overnight due to a \u201chybrid attack from Belarus,\u201d after detecting navigation markers that looked like weather balloons, its press office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restrictions affected flights between 11.25 pm on September 21 and 2.40 am on September 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balloon-related incidents have disrupted airport operations more than a dozen times this year, with the latest reported on June 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions between Belarus and Lithuania over cigarette-smuggling balloons have been rising since mid-October 2025, forcing Lithuanian authorities to close the border and suspend operations at Vilnius International Airport, located close to the Belarusian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius declared an \u201cextreme situation,\u201d a low-level emergency, on December 9 in response to what it called \u201ca hybrid attack from Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Luka\u0161enka, however, played down Vilnius\u2019s concerns in mid-March, claiming that weather balloons could not affect airport operations. He also told state media journalists that police had arrested five persons suspected of involvement in smuggling cigarettes by air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remarks came a day after \u0141uka\u0161enka held talks with John Coale, US special envoy for Belarus, who negotiated the release of 250 imprisoned Belarusian dissidents and raised Lithuania\u2019s concerns over cigarette smuggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius has repeatedly tied any potential engagement with Minsk to a halt in the ongoing balloon incursions, among other conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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