Airport hall in Vilnius, Lithuania, on October 28, 2025. PHOTO: Petras Malukas / AFP / Profimedia
The airport in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, was temporarily closed on Thursday due to weather balloons flying near it, airport officials announced in a Facebook post, the sixth such incident since October, Reuters writes.
Lithuania says the helium balloons are sent by smugglers who smuggle cigarettes, but also accuses Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, of failing to stop the practice.
“According to preliminary information, the decision to restrict the airspace was made due to a balloon (or balloons) flying in the direction of Vilnius airport,” the airport said on Thursday.
Traffic at the capital's airport was suspended until 21:10 GMT, officials at Vilnius' largest and busiest airport said.
The Baltic country has already closed border crossings between Lithuania and Belarus to most travelers until the end of November in response to airspace disruptions, and has announced plans to shoot down the balloons.
Lukashenko on Tuesday said the closure of the Lithuanian border was a “crazy scam” and accused the West of waging a “hybrid war” against Belarus and Russia, marking the start of a new era of “barbed wire division”.
NATO member Lithuania in August declared a 90km no-fly zone parallel to its border with Belarus in response to the entry of drones from the country, saying it would allow its armed forces to respond to airspace violations.
Lithuania, a strong supporter of Ukraine, shares a 679 km border with Belarus. The capital Vilnius is about 30 km from the border.
