22.10.2025 12:10
The airport in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, was closed to flights overnight due to meteorological balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes from Belarus. Approximately 30 flights and 4,000 passengers were affected by this situation, and one person was detained in connection with the incident, with 7,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes seized.
The airport named after Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, was closed to flights overnight due to meteorological balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes from Belarus into the country.
According to a report by the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), air traffic at Vilnius Airport was suspended from 10:00 PM local time last night after dozens of smuggler balloons were detected entering the country's airspace.
30 FLIGHTS AND 4,000 PASSENGERS AFFECTED
Approximately 30 flights and 4,000 passengers were affected by this situation, while airport operations resumed at 6:30 AM local time. So far, the locations of 5 balloons have been identified, 1 person has been detained in connection with the incident, and around 7,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes have been seized.
INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED UNDER ORGANIZED CRIME
Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovicius stated that the smuggling incidents involving meteorological balloons are being investigated as organized crime.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center, emphasized that the balloons were sent from multiple points in Belarus as part of a coordinated operation. Vilnius Airport had also been closed to flights on October 5 due to smuggled cigarettes transported by balloons from Belarus.
Lithuanian officials had previously accused Belarus of sending such balloons across the border to transport illegal goods or disrupt air traffic near Vilnius.