On Tuesday evening, the operations of Vilnius Airport were disrupted due to weather balloons used for smuggling cigarettes from Belarus, the National Crisis Management Center reported, LETA writes, citing LRT.
The center indicated that several dozen such balloons are observed in the sky, and there may be even more.
"Flights have been suspended until further notice from the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Department. Customers and passengers at the airport are asked to monitor official information from Vilnius Airport," the statement said.
As Vitalija Roče, a representative of Lithuanian airports, told the BNS agency, the smuggled balloons affected a total of six flights – both arriving in Lithuania and departing from it.
"Some flights were redirected to Kaunas, one plane returned to the departure airport," Roče reported.
"We cannot answer when the situation will be resolved because it is impossible to predict when the airspace will be reopened. As soon as this happens, Vilnius Airport will resume operations," she added.
Vilnius Airport is temporarily closed until 6:30 AM on Wednesday or until a decision is made by the air traffic management company ‘Oro Navigacija,’ the National Crisis Management Center reported.
The last time the airport's operations were disrupted due to such balloons was in early October. At that time, more than 20 weather balloons crossed Lithuania's airspace.
According to Vilnius Airport's statement, over 4,000 passengers and 30 flights were affected due to the restrictions on its operations. Fourteen flights were redirected to other airports: ten to Kaunas, two to Riga, and one each to Palanga and Warsaw.
Ten flights were canceled, one plane returned to the departure airport, and several more flights from Vilnius are expected to be delayed.
The Riga Airport website reports that a flight from Vilnius to Riga scheduled to land in the Latvian capital at 6:30 AM was canceled this morning.
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