Lithuania's Vilnius airport reopens after suspension over balloons in airspace

The incident is latest in series of European air traffic disruptions

A view of Gediminas street in Vilnius, Lithuania May 19, 2018. REUTERS

Lithuania reopened to air traffic at its largest and busiest Vilnius airport early on Sunday after several hours of flight suspensions and diversions over balloons possibly flying in its airspace, the airport's operator said.

European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen and Munich.

Air traffic at Vilnius was restored at 4:50 am (0150 GMT) on Sunday after a decision was made late on Saturday to close the airspace "due to a possible series of balloons heading toward Vilnius Airport," the operator said in a statement on its Facebook page.

FLIGHTS DIVERTED TO LATVIA, POLAND

Lithuania's public broadcaster LRT cited the head of the country's National Crisis Management as saying late on Saturday that 13 balloons were heading towards Vilnius airport.

According to notices posted to the US Federal Aviation Administration's website, the flight restrictions were due to "hot air balloon flights."

The Vilnius airport said the closure affected a series of overnight flights, with most incoming flights redirected to neighbouring Latvia and Poland, while departures were cancelled. One flight due to arrive from Copenhagen returned to Denmark.

NATO-member Lithuania in August declared a 90-km (60-mile) no-fly zone parallel to the border with Belarus in response to drones entering from there, saying this would allow its armed forces to react to violations.

Lithuania, a strong supporter of Ukraine, shares a 679-km (422-mile) border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia. The capital Vilnius lies roughly 30 km from the border.