The airport of Vilnius Lithuania was temporarily closed on Thursday (30.10.2025) due to weather balloon flights in its vicinity, authorities said in a Facebook post, the sixth such incident in a row this month.
“According to the first information, the decision to restrict the airspace was taken because of a balloon (or balloons) flying in the direction of Vilnius airport,” Lithuanian airport officials said.
Lithuania says the balloons are sent by smugglers carrying illegal cigarettes, but it also blames Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.
Traffic at the capital’s airport was suspended until 23:10 Greek time, they added.
The Baltic state has already closed border crossings between Lithuania and Belarus to most travelers until the end of November in response to the incidents in its airspace and says it plans to shoot down the balloons.
Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Lithuania’s border closure was a “crazy hoax” and accused the West of waging a hybrid war against Belarus and Russia leading to a new era of barbed-wire separation.