Lithuania suspended air traffic at Vilnius Airport late on Tuesday due to a presence of dozens of smugglers’ balloons in its airspace, the country’s National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) said in a statement.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.
“Operations have been disrupted due to weather balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus,” the NCMC said in its statement, adding that passengers were asked to follow official airport information.
Eight incoming flights have so far been redirected, including to Lithuania’s Kaunas airport and to Warsaw, the Vilnius aiport’s operator said.
The Vilnius airport also shut on October 5 due to a similar incident of helium balloons carrying contraband cigarettes from neighbouring Belarus.
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