Lithuania plans to declare state of emergency due to balloons from Belarus

The Lithuanian government plans to declare a state of emergency in the country “due to the threat to civil protection” from balloons from Belarus that are disrupting the operation of Vilnius Airport.

According to Ukrinform, this was reported by LRT.

“The government is preparing to declare an emergency situation due to the threat to civil protection,” Advisor to the Prime Minister Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas stated.

When asked whether such a decision could be made at today's government meeting, Dobrovolskas did not respond.

Over the past few months, Lithuania has faced an influx of smuggled balloons that are disrupting the operation of Vilnius Airport.

In response to these incidents, the government decided at the end of October to close the border with Belarus for a month. However, the border was opened ahead of schedule to resolve the situation with carriers stuck in Belarus.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Lithuanian Air Traffic Control Service suspended flights at Vilnius Airport on Sunday night due to balloons that could fly into its airspace.

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