JAKARTA - The Vilnius Airport Authority in Lithuania announced Monday that the airport was back in operation, after being closed twice overnight because balloons were moving towards its airspace, causing a number of flights to be diverted to other cities.
Lithuania said the disturbance was caused by weather balloons transporting smuggled cigarettes from neighboring Belarus, and blamed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko for allowing the practice, calling it a form of "hybrid attack."
"The airspace restriction was lifted on November 24 at around 03.25 a.m. (local time)," the airport said on Facebook on Monday.
On Sunday evening, airport authorities said operations were disrupted due to "a typical sign of a balloon moving towards Vilnius Airport," and is scheduled to reopen at 23.30 GMT.
However, on Monday morning, the airport again stated that it had imposed temporary restrictions at 23.40 GMT because balloons were moving towards its airspace.
Europe's flights have been hit repeatedly by chaos in recent months as a result of sightings and drone infiltration, including at airports in Copenhagen and Brussels. The closure in Vilnius is the closing of the ninth capital Lithuania since early October.
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Last month, Lithuania closed both crossing points on its border with Belarus in response to a balloon incident, but reopened it earlier this week as air traffic disruptions appear to have stopped.
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