Lithuania was forced to suspend air traffic at Vilnius Airport last night after dozens of balloons used by smugglers entered its airspace from Belarus.

It marked the second time in a month that the country's largest airport was shut down due to a similar incident.

On 5 October, helium balloons carrying contraband cigarettes also led to flight cancellations and delays.

"Operations have been disrupted due to weather balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus," the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) said in a statement.

Image: Authorities intercept smugglers' balloons. Pic: NCMC

As of early Wednesday morning, nearly 30 flights had been affected "due to operational restrictions".

"Preliminary information suggests the decision to impose airspace restrictions was made after m

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