Lithuania temporarily suspended operations at Vilnius International Airport twice overnight after radar detected balloons drifting toward the capital’s airspace from neighbouring Belarus. Authorities say the objects are being used to smuggle contraband cigarettes and describe the incidents as part of a broader “hybrid attack” on the country.
According to Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre, the latest disruption began on Sunday evening, 23 November, and led to a halt in air traffic at Vilnius, with several incoming flights diverted to other airports. Restrictions were lifted after midnight, but operations were suspended again between 1:40 a.m. and 4:40 a.m. local time as new balloons were detected heading toward the airport.
Airport authorities later confirmed that airspace restrictions were removed in the early hours of Monday morning and normal operations resumed, although they warned that surveillance had been intensified and further disruptions could not be ruled out. This was already the ninth shutdown at Vilnius Airport since early October linked to balloon incursions.
Smugglers’ Balloons as a Security Threat
Lithuanian officials say the balloons are helium-filled weather probes rigged to carry boxes of black-market cigarettes across the border into the European Union. The devices do not carry explosives or weapons, but they pose a serious risk to civil aviation when they drift into busy air corridors around the capital’s airport.
Politicians in Vilnius argue that the pattern of incursions—often clustered over a short period and timed to cause maximum disruption—goes beyond ordinary smuggling. They accuse the Belarusian authorities of tolerating, and possibly orchestrating, the launches as a tool of pressure on an EU and NATO neighbour. Several ministers have explicitly labelled the episodes a form of “hybrid attack” conducted from Belarusian territory.
The Lithuanian government also blames Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for failing to crack down on the smugglers. By allowing repeated violations of Lithuanian airspace, officials say, Minsk is testing the country’s air-defence response and seeking to undermine public confidence in aviation safety.
Border With Belarus Closed, Then Reopened
The balloon incidents have already had consequences far beyond airport delays. Last month Lithuania took the highly unusual step of closing its two remaining road border crossings with Belarus, citing repeated violations of its airspace by smugglers’ balloons and broader security concerns. The closures lasted about a month before Vilnius reopened the crossings after a brief lull in intrusions.
The decision was politically sensitive and economically costly, disrupting trade and travel for residents on both sides of the frontier. Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė acknowledged the inconvenience but argued that the move was necessary to protect national security and send a clear signal to Minsk that such provocations would not be tolerated.
Even after the border reopened, tensions remained high. Belarus responded by restricting the movement of Lithuanian trucks, and Lithuanian officials have repeatedly warned that if balloon flights resume at scale, the land crossings could be closed again and military means—including shooting down the balloons—may be used more frequently.
Hybrid Pressure on a NATO Frontier
The balloon disruptions at Vilnius Airport fit into a broader pattern of what Baltic and European officials describe as hybrid tactics: actions that fall below the threshold of open military conflict but are intended to intimidate, destabilise or impose costs on a rival state. Similar concerns have been raised across the region over drone sightings near airports, unexplained GPS jamming and suspected sabotage of infrastructure.
For Lithuania, the stakes are particularly high. As a small NATO member bordering both Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave, it has become one of the Alliance’s most outspoken voices on regional security since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Any disruption of civil aviation or cross-border traffic is therefore read not only as a criminal issue, but also as part of a wider contest of pressure and deterrence.
With Vilnius Airport now reopened but on heightened alert, Lithuanian authorities say they are working with European partners and aviation agencies to minimise disruption while preparing for the possibility that balloon incursions—and the political confrontation surrounding them—could become a long-term challenge rather than a passing anomaly.
