Authorities in Lithuania were forced to shut down Vilnius Airport on Saturday night after up to 25 small hot-air balloons some confirmed to be carrying smuggled cigarettes entered Lithuanian airspace. The unusual intrusion caused major flight disruptions, delaying over 30 flights and affecting approximately 6,000 passengers.
According to Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre, the balloons appeared in the skies between 8:45 p.m. Saturday and 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Flight operations resumed at around 4:50 a.m. local time after the airspace was cleared.
Border police later recovered 11 of the balloons, along with around 18,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes, in various locations across Vilnius County. The country’s capital lies just 40 kilometers west of the Belarusian border, a known route for smuggling goods into the European Union.
Authorities believe the balloons originated from Belarus, where smugglers have increasingly turned to inexpensive hot-air balloons instead of drones to transport contraband. In 2023 alone, Lithuanian officials intercepted 966 such balloons, while 544 have already been recorded this year.
The incident has raised concerns across Europe, as tensions remain high following a series of airspace violations believed to be linked to Russia and its allies. In recent months, Lithuania has reported multiple drone intrusions, including one Russian-made Gerbera drone that crashed near Vilnius in July, prompting the parliament to authorize the military to shoot down any unmanned aerial vehicles entering national airspace.
While officials confirmed that the latest incident was related to smuggling rather than espionage or sabotage, the scale of the intrusion underscores the growing challenges European nations face in securing their skies amid geopolitical tensions and unconventional threats.
