On Sunday, 22 March, at 12:33 a.m., due to the hybrid attack carried out by Belarus against Lithuania, civil aviation, and the public – with navigation traces characteristic of balloons being detected in areas posing risks to aviation – temporary airspace restrictions were introduced over Vilnius Airport. Vilnius Airport resumed operations at 01:46 a.m., after the airspace restrictions were lifted, the airport said in a statement.
It is estimated that due to these airspace restrictions, 5 flights and 503 passengers were affected. Of these flights, 1 flight was diverted to Kaunas Airport and, after the airspace restrictions were lifted, later arrived in Vilnius. Additionally, 2 flights returned to Warsaw and Copenhagen and were cancelled, and 2 flights from Vilnius to Warsaw and Copenhagen were also cancelled.
Vilnius Airport said minor flight delays might occur on 22–23 due to disrupted crew and aircraft rotations.