Lithuania announced it has closed its Vilnius airport on Saturday over balloon sightings. The NATO member state also announced it will be closing its border with Belarus after helium weather balloons drifted into its airspace for a second consecutive day.
As per a Reuters report, officials stated that the traffic at Vilnius Airport and the crossing at the border with Belarus were suspended till 2 am local time.
Before Saturday's closure, Lithuania's key airport also closed on Tuesday and Friday, and on October 5, due to balloons entering the capital's airspace, authorities told media.
As per Lithuania, the balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes. However, the country has also blamed Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia and Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice, despite repeated flagging.
Tensions brew in Europe over balloon, drone sightings
Along with Lithuania, several other European and NATO nations have scrambled to shut their airspace and suspend flight operations as the war in Ukraine rages on.
Last week, Germany's Munich Airport was shut after several drones were sighted in the vicinity of and on the grounds of Munich Airport.
{{/usCountry}}Last week, Germany's Munich Airport was shut after several drones were sighted in the vicinity of and on the grounds of Munich Airport.
{{/usCountry}}"The state police immediately launched extensive search operations with a large number of officers in the vicinity of the airport. At the same time, the federal police immediately carried out surveillance and search operations on the airport grounds. However, it has not yet been possible to identify the perpetrator," read the official statement issued by the airport authorities.
Last month, Denmark, Norway and Sweden rushed to shut down their airports after multiple drones were sighted in their respective airspace. While the origin of the drones were not stated, speculations of Russian threats grew.
Furthermore, these drone sightings came after Poland shut its airspace and border with Belarus after multiple Russian drones violated its airspace and were downed by the Polish armed forced.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.