Vilnius Airport suspends operations for third consecutive day

On the night of October 26–27, Vilnius International Airport was again closed. Flight restrictions were imposed for the third consecutive day and for the fourth time this week.

This was reported by the Lithuanian media outlet LRT.

Why Vilnius Airport is closed again

According to preliminary information, the decision to restrict airspace was made due to the flight of balloons in the direction of Vilnius Airport.

Initially, it was announced that the airport would be closed from 9:42 p.m. to 1:40 a.m. EST. Later, the closure was extended to 3:40 a.m., and it is now confirmed that the airspace will remain closed until 5:40 a.m.

"Today at 9:42 p.m., air traffic at Vilnius Airport was temporarily suspended. According to preliminary information, the decision to restrict airspace was made due to hot air balloons flying toward Vilnius Airport. Airspace restrictions are in place until 3:40 a.m.," the Vilnius Airport Facebook page stated.

Some flights were diverted to Kaunas, Warsaw, and Riga. For example, an airBaltic flight arriving from Munich that was scheduled to land in Vilnius was redirected to Riga Airport, and a Ryanair flight from Milan was redirected to Kaunas.

According to the flight list, at least 15 flights were affected by the incident.

In addition, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) reported that due to the launch of air balloons, the country is closing border crossings with Belarus.

"From approximately 10:10 p.m., the passage of vehicles and individuals through the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border checkpoints has been temporarily suspended due to the entry of air balloons into Lithuania from Belarus," the outlet added.

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