By Andrius Sytas

VILNIUS, Oct 22 (Reuters) – European Union member state Lithuania will close its border with Belarus if smuggler balloons enter from the neighbouring country again, Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said on Wednesday.

Lithuania resumed flights at Vilnius Airport and reopened crossings with Belarus on Wednesday following closures overnight when smuggler balloons entered the capital city’s airspace, the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) said.

“If such major crossings of balloons over our border are repeated, we will react immediately and close our border with Belarus…We will make no concessions to Belarus,” Ruginiene told reporters.

She did not say how long such a closure would last.

An information board showing international arrivals is pictured at Vilnius Airport, in Vilnius, Lithuania May 23, 2021. REUTERS/Andrius Sytas Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

About a dozen of the balloons were found on the ground and four people were arrested, authorities said.

Some 30 flights and more than 4,000 passengers were affected when dozens of helium weather balloons drifted towards the airport late on Tuesday. Lithuania shut both border crossings with Belarus, an ally of Russia, after the incidents.

The NCMC said it was the second time this month that balloons carrying contraband cigarettes from Belarus had interrupted air traffic in Vilnius, which is located 30 km (20 miles) from the border.

European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region. Russia has denied responsibility for the incidents.

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Andrius covers politics and general news in the Baltics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the three key states along the NATO’s eastern flank, the staunchest supporters of Ukraine and the most vocal critics of Russia in NATO and the European Union. He wrote stories on everything from China pressuring German companies to leave Taiwan-supporting Lithuania to Iraqi migrants hiding in the forest at the Belarus border to a farmer burning grain for heat during the energy crisis.

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