Lithuania closed its largest airports, in Vilnius and Kaunas, until 1 a.m. (Dutch time) on Friday evening due to several balloons floating in the airspace. The border crossings with Belarus will remain closed until eleven o’clock on Sunday morning, authorities report.
It would most likely concern smugglers trying to transport illegal cigarettes into the country, reports a spokesperson from the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center to local press. Lithuania blames Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for not doing anything to stop the balloons.
Next week is initiated Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiené convened the National Security Committee to discuss possible follow-up actions that would be “painful for both smugglers and the Lukashenko regime.” It is not clear what exactly those actions entail.
Smaller number than earlier this week
This is the third time this month that these illegal balloons flew over Lithuanian airspace. Last Tuesday, Vilnius airport was also closed because, according to the government, helium balloons containing illegal cigarettes flew into the capital. This would involve a large number, according to the Lithuanian crisis team, of about eighty to ninety illegal balloons. About four thousand passengers missed their scheduled flights as a result.
It is not known exactly how many balloons were involved on Friday evening. However, according to Vitkauskas, this would be a smaller number than at the beginning of this week. Due to the closure of two airports, 40 flights were canceled, causing more than 6,000 passengers to miss their flights.
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