Lithuania closes airports, border crossings with Belarus over balloon incursions
(MENAFN) Lithuania took decisive action on Friday, closing its two largest airports and sealing its border crossings with Belarus after a third incident this month involving helium weather balloons entering Lithuanian airspace.
The Vilnius and Kaunas airports were closed for safety reasons until 2 a.m. (2300 GMT), while the border crossings with Belarus will remain shut until noon on Saturday, according to local authorities.
Lithuanian officials have attributed the balloon incursions to smugglers using the balloons to transport contraband cigarettes, and they hold Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, responsible for failing to curb the illegal activity.
“The national security commission will meet again next week to assess the influence of decisions already made and what else could be done in the short term to make it painful to the smugglers and to Lukashenko’s regime, which allows them to thrive,” Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene stated.
The national crisis management center reported detecting “tens of balloons” on radar on Friday.
Vilnius airport had been previously closed on October 5 and again this past Tuesday after 25 balloons entered Lithuanian airspace.
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