Lithuania has triggered a state of emergency on Friday after hundreds of balloons from Belarus breached its airspace, endangering civilian flights and prompting urgent action.
Lithuania declares state of emergency
Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene announced the decision and said officials were preparing legal documents and procedures. She added that the emergency state is the best current strategy to concentrate forces and resources on countering the balloon incursions and did not rule out further decisive measures.
Threat to aircraft
On Friday the Ministry of the Interior released a draft bill establishing the emergency state, which will be reviewed by the government next week. Lithuania last invoked such measures in 2022 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and earlier in 2021 during a Belarusian migration crisis. Balloons have long been used for smuggling cigarettes from Belarus, but recent activity poses significant danger to aeronautics.
Hundreds of balloons breach airspace
Authorities say the balloons are deliberately launched toward routes where civilian aviation operates. The Vilnius airport was closed again on Wednesday because of the risk. Since October, airspace restrictions above the airport have been imposed fourteen times, affecting 320 flights and more than 45,000 passengers—about five percent of all travelers in the capital over the past two months.
Statistics from the Ministry of the Interior show that this year 599 balloons and 197 drones have infringed Lithuanian airspace, causing disruptions to 320 flights and affecting 47,000 passengers. Consequences included about 60 hours of airport closures.