Lithuania was compelled to droop air site visitors at Vilnius Airport final evening after dozens of balloons utilized by smugglers entered its airspace from Belarus.
It marked the second time in a month that the nation’s largest airport was shut down resulting from an analogous incident.
On 5 October, helium balloons carrying contraband cigarettes additionally led to flight cancellations and delays.
“Operations have been disrupted due to weather balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus,” the Nationwide Disaster Administration Centre (NCMC) stated in a press release.
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Authorities intercept smugglers’ balloons. Pic: NCMC
As of early Wednesday morning, practically 30 flights had been affected “due to operational restrictions”.
“Preliminary information suggests the decision to impose airspace restrictions was made after meteorological balloons were detected flying toward Vilnius,” it stated.
Though the airport has since reopened, a number of flights have suffered cancellations and delays – with affected passengers suggested to contact their airways for additional data.
European air journey has confronted repeated disruptions in current weeks resulting from drone sightings and unauthorised airspace breaches – hitting airports in Copenhagen, Munich and throughout the Baltic area.
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Contraband cigarettes intercepted by Lithuania. Pic: NCMC
The most recent incident additionally comes amid heightened alert throughout Europe following a number of breaches of NATO airspace by drones and plane in September.
Lithuania’s NCMC reported earlier this month that 487 shipments of cigarettes despatched from Belarus utilizing balloons have already been intercepted this 12 months.
Border guards have additionally detained 87 folks suspected of involvement in airborne smuggling operations – practically double the 46 arrested final 12 months.
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Drones have additionally been utilized by smugglers to hold contraband cigarettes. Pic: NCMC
Along with the balloons, 45 drones carrying unlawful cigarettes from Belarus have been seized this 12 months.
Altogether, greater than 771,000 packs of cigarettes have been smuggled throughout the border utilizing drones and balloons
The development shouldn’t be restricted to Lithuania. Polish and Latvian border guards have additionally not too long ago intercepted balloons carrying cigarettes launched from Belarus.
Authorities say a number of components are driving the shift to “remote” smuggling strategies comparable to balloons.
The development of a bodily barrier – together with fencing and concertina wire – alongside the Belarusian border has made conventional smuggling routes harder to make use of.
As well as, the State Safety Service has put in a surveillance system alongside your entire border with Belarus, permitting border guards to reply extra shortly and rising the chance of intercepting smugglers.
There’s a “significant price difference” within the worth of cigarettes between Lithuania and Belarus, the NCMC stated.
The nation continues to function a key transit route for the unlawful motion of tobacco merchandise into different European Union nations, it added.
