Lithuania shuts Vilnius airport again due to weather balloons
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Traffic at the capital’s airport was suspended until 2110 GMT (5.10am on Oct 31 in Singapore).
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VILNIUS - Lithuania's Vilnius airport temporarily closed on Oct 30 due to weather balloons flying in its vicinity, the airport said in a post on Facebook, the sixth such incident this month.
Lithuania has said the balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes, but it also blames Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.
“According to preliminary information, the decision to restrict the airspace was made due to a balloon (or balloons) flying in the direction of Vilnius Airport,” the airport said on Oct 30.
Traffic at the capital’s airport was suspended until 2110 GMT (5.10am on Oct 31 in Singapore), it added.
The Baltic nation has already closed its border crossings between Lithuania and Belarus for most travellers until Nov 30 in response to the airspace disruptions, and has said it plans to shoot down balloons.
Mr Lukashenko said on Oct 28 that the Lithuanian border closure was a “crazy scam” and he accused the West of fighting a hybrid war against Belarus and Russia that was ushering in a new era of barbed-wire division. REUTERS
