In Vilnius, on the night of October 27, the international airport was closed due to balloons flying in its direction.
Points of attention
- Vilnius Airport faced closure due to unidentified hot air balloons, causing delays in flights and disruptions in aircraft traffic.
- The President of Lithuania considers these incidents as a hybrid attack and discusses potential responses at both symmetric and asymmetric levels.
- Recent disruptions have led to discussions on restricting transit to Kaliningrad and potentially closing the border with Belarus for security reasons.
Hot air balloons again close Vilnius airport
Aircraft traffic at Vilnius Airport was temporarily suspended on October 26 at 9:42 p.m.
According to preliminary reports, the decision to restrict airspace was caused by a balloon flight towards Vilnius Airport.
Airspace restrictions lasted until 05:40 on Monday, October 27.
According to the Lithuanian publication LRT, some flights are directed to Kaunas and Riga.
At least 15 flights were postponed due to the closure of Vilnius Airport.
A few hours before the incident with the balloons and the closure of the airport, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that the country should consider restricting transit to Kaliningrad and long-term closing the border with Belarus precisely because of the balloons.
The President views the incidents of recent days and the disruptions to the airport as a hybrid attack against Lithuania, which must be responded to both symmetrically and asymmetrically.
Last week, Lithuanian air traffic was disrupted three times due to smuggled balloons.
