Vilnius and Kaunas airports shut after contraband balloons enter airspace

Two of Lithuania’s main airports were shut down three times during the weekend of October 25–26, 2025, after weather balloons, which were used to smuggle cigarettes from neighboring Belarus, illegally entered the country’s airspace.

These temporary closures caused hundreds of flights to be disrupted at Vilnius International Airport (VNO) and Kaunas Airport (KUN), affecting more than 16,500 travelers in total. Some passengers reported scenes of total chaos at both airports, with hundreds of people waiting for flights, numerous aircraft grounded, and instances of lost luggage.

At the time of writing, both airports confirmed that normal operations have been completely restored, but warned that there might be flight delays throughout the day due to disrupted crew and aircraft rotation. 

“Passengers whose flights have been cancelled are advised not to go to the airport and to contact their airlines directly for alternative travel options and more detailed information,” Vilnius Airport announced in a statement on October 27, 2025. “Airlines must provide all necessary information to passengers about further actions and flight alternatives.”

How many flights were affected?

Both airports encountered multiple disruptions over the weekend, with operations being repeatedly suspended and resumed. Flight tracking website Flightradar24 reported that some flights scheduled to land in Vilnius were redirected to Kaunas (KUN), Warsaw (WAW), and Riga (RIX) airports.

The disruptions began on the evening of October 24, 2025, with both Vilnius and Kaunas airports temporarily suspending airspace – Vilnius from 20:31 to 02:35 local time, and Kaunas from 20:36 to 02:35 local time. These restrictions impacted a total of 40 flights and over 6,000 passengers at both airports, resulting in 10 cancellations, 14 diversions, and 16 delays.

On October 25, 2025, Vilnius Airport experienced additional temporary disruptions starting at 21:35 local time, lasting almost six hours until 03:30 the next morning. This suspension affected around 3,500 passengers and 25 flights – five were cancelled, seven diverted, and 13 delayed.

After these incidents, more delays followed. On October 26, 2025, air traffic at Vilnius Airport was again stopped for nearly seven hours, starting at 21:42 and reopening at 04:30 local time the next morning. This suspension disrupted both arriving and departing flights, impacting more than 7,000 passengers. In total, 47 flights were affected – 13 were cancelled, 14 diverted, and 20 delayed.

Escalating airspace threats

According to initial reports, the decision to restrict airspace was made because of contraband weather balloons approaching both airports.

On October 26, 2025, Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service announced that border crossings between Lithuania and Belarus were closed due to the balloons.

“Due to balloons flying into Lithuania from Belarus, the passage of vehicles and people through the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border checkpoints will be temporarily suspended,” the institution said in a statement.

These developments highlight a concerning rise in airspace threats within NATO territory. On October 23, 2025, Russian military aircraft briefly entered Lithuanian airspace near Kybartai, prompting a rapid response from NATO jets on patrol.

This incident follows a pattern of similar occurrences in recent months. In September 2025, Russian drones breached the airspace of Poland and Scandinavian countries.

The post Vilnius and Kaunas airports shut after contraband balloons enter airspace appeared first on AeroTime.

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