Vilnius Airport temporarily halts operations due to weather balloons

On the evening of November 8, air traffic at Vilnius Airport was temporarily suspended because of a threat related to meteorological balloons.

According to Delfi, cited by Ukrinform, the representative of the Minister of Transport, Lukas Paskevicius, said that restrictions were introduced at 20:45 due to weather balloons heading toward the airport.

Initially, Lithuanian authorities estimated that it would take about three hours to normalize the situation and introduced restrictions until 23:45. However, to minimize the impact on passengers and ensure safety, the airspace was reopened at 21:50.

It is noted that in similar previous cases, such restrictions had remained in place for more than six hours.

In October, several incidents were recorded involving weather balloons carrying contraband launched from Belarus, which disrupted airport operations. In response, the Lithuanian government decided to close the last remaining border checkpoints with Belarus, Medininkai and Salcininkai, for one month, until November 30.

As Ukrinform reported, on the morning of November 5, Vilnius Airport was also temporarily closed after an unidentified drone was spotted on its territory.

Photo: sumin.lrv.lt