Lietuvos oro uostai / 2026-09-21 / carrying out the act
The airport operator linked the disruption to hybrid activity by Belarus. The report does not present evidence establishing responsibility for this particular episode.
Lithuania / 2026-09-21-lt-1
airspace incident: Vilnius Airport (2026-09-21)
/ period
What happened
On the night of 21/22 September 2026, Vilnius Airport operations were restricted after signatures characteristic of balloons were detected. Restrictions began at 23:25 local time; according to BNS, normal operations resumed at 02:40. Airport operator Lietuvos oro uostai linked the event to hybrid activity by Belarus. On 23 September, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry delivered a protest note to the Belarusian chargé d’affaires concerning the night of 21/22 September. According to the ministry, balloons carrying contraband arrived from Belarusian territory, violating the border and airspace and endangering civil aviation. The ministry assesses this and similar episodes as systematic hybrid activity. The statement does not identify the balloons’ specific operator. The sources do not confirm the recovery of balloons or the presence of Russian drones.
Responsibility and limits of the evidence
unresolved
The case was looked at and not settled, or the findings are disputed or have been rejected.
Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych Litwy / 2026-09-23 / other
On 23 September, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry delivered a protest note to the Belarusian chargé d’affaires concerning the night of 21/22 September. According to the ministry, balloons carrying contraband arrived from Belarusian territory, violating the border and airspace and endangering civil aviation. The ministry assesses this and similar episodes as systematic hybrid activity. The statement does not identify the balloons’ specific operator.
Impact
- killed
- not established
- injured
- not established
- damage
- not established
airport restricted: Vilnius Airport
2026-09-21T23:25:00+03:00
minutes of disruption: 195
What happened next
On 23 September, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry delivered a protest note to the Belarusian chargé d’affaires concerning the night of 21/22 September. According to the ministry, balloons carrying contraband arrived from Belarusian territory, violating the border and airspace and endangering civil aviation. The ministry assesses this and similar episodes as systematic hybrid activity. The statement does not identify the balloons’ specific operator.
Sources
- Naktį buvo apribota Vilniaus oro uosto veikla: fiksuotos balionams būdingos atžymos
TV3 / BNS / 2026-09-21 / secondary source
supports: the record, that it happened, the date, the location, the disruption, the attribution
- Lietuva įteikė protesto notą Baltarusijai dėl oro erdvės pažeidimo ir grėsmės civilinei aviacijai
Lietuvos Respublikos užsienio reikalų ministerija / 2026-09-23 / primary source
supports: the record, that it happened, the date, the attribution, the disruption