airspace incident: Vilnius Airport (2025-11-20)

What happened

On the evening of Thursday 20 November Vilnius Airport halted traffic from 18:38 to 19:55 because of navigation traces consistent with smugglers' balloons arriving from Belarus. According to the NKVC and Lithuanian Airports (via LRT/BNS) initial data pointed to up to ten balloon-like objects; 10 flights and more than 1,100 passengers were affected: 4 flights were cancelled and 6 could not land or depart as scheduled. Among the delayed flights was one from Brussels carrying Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys and EU Commissioner Andrius Kubilius. Who launched the balloons has not been established.

Responsibility and limits of the evidence

not assessed

Nobody has yet assessed responsibility for this record. Not assessed is not the same as not established.

Impact

killed

not established

injured

not established

damage

not established

No casualties reported.

Sources

1. Balloon threat affects 10 flights at Vilnius Airport

   LRT English / BNS / 2025-11-21 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the disruption, that it happened, the date, the impact

2. Suspected smuggling balloons halt Vilnius Airport, delaying flight carrying Lithuanian minister

   UNITED24 Media / 2025-11-21 / secondary source

   supports: the record, the disruption

3. Wpis ministra spraw zagranicznych Litwy Kęstutisa Budrysa na X, 20.11.2025

   X / @BudrysKestutis / 2025-11-20 / primary source

   supports: the record