In brief

• Vilnius airport limited arrivals on Tuesday evening over smuggling balloons arriving from Belarus.
• Airspace limits at Vilnius were lifted around 21:56, then reimposed shortly after 22:00 over a possible air threat.
• Kaunas airport was also restricted from 21:47, with the limits extended to 23:45.
• Passengers affected by the disruption were told to contact their airlines.

Brief reopening and renewed closure

Airspace restrictions were imposed over Vilnius airport at around 19:20 on Tuesday, 10 November, and aircraft arrivals were temporarily suspended. Departures were still permitted under standard safety requirements (Atšaukus oro pavojų Vilniaus ir Kauno oro uostai atnaujino darbą – Diena.lt) (Dėl galimų balionų iš Baltarusijos iki vidurnakčio sustabdyti skrydžiai į Vilniaus oro uostą – Diena.lt). Lithuanian airports operator LTOU said the limits were tied to a hybrid attack by Belarus against Lithuania and civil aviation, with navigation signatures typical of balloons being recorded in areas risky for aviation (Dėl iš Baltarusijos skrendančių balionų ribojama Vilniaus oro uosto veikla – Bernardinai.lt).

The airport resumed operations at 21:56, after restrictions set earlier in the evening were lifted (Panaikinus oro erdvės ribojimus, Vilniaus oro uostas atnaujino veiklą – Diena.lt) (Panaikinus oro erdvės ribojimus, Vilniaus oro uostas atnaujino veiklą – Bernardinai.lt). Shortly afterwards, at about 22:00, the airport was limited again, this time over a warning of a possible air threat (Vilniaus ir Kauno oro uostai kol kas neveikia – Bernardinai.lt). The army alerted to a possible air attack over Vilnius and Utena counties and declared a yellow code around the same time.

Kaunas also affected

Restrictions were also introduced over Kaunas airport at 21:47 for the same reason. They were extended to 23:45.

Passengers

Passengers whose flights were disrupted or cancelled were advised to contact their airlines directly.