Lithuania is looking into moving night flights from Vilnius to its second-largest city of Kaunas as smuggling balloons continue to disrupt operations at Vilnius Airport, the spokesperson for Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said on Monday.
"We are considering the possibility of moving night flights to other airports in the country, such as Kaunas, and we continue to take measures against local smuggling networks and are actively using diplomatic channels," Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas told BNS on Monday, adding that the government is not currently considering closing the border with Belarus.
"We are now focusing on how to actually help people and businesses," Dobrovolskas said.
"We are assessing the situation on a daily basis and considering additional measures that could yield results."
Weather balloons used by cigarette smugglers have forced Vilnius and Kaunas Airports to temporarily suspend their operations more than ten times since October.
Saulius Batavicius, CEO of Air Navigation, the provider of navigation services, said that Vilnius Airport was closed for 11 hours on Sunday night as authorities recorded 60 balloons entering the country, 40 of which were in locations critical to flight safety.
Due to the constant influx of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes into the country, Lithuania closed its border with Belarus in late October, but later reopened it.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė launched a pre-trial investigation on Monday into aiding another country in acting against Lithuania.
The decision was made after reviewing the recent systematic GPS traces and the smugglers' balloons found in Lithuania with contraband cargo, as well as the national security risks stemming from these incidents.
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