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The Baltic nation plans to eliminate aerial devices transporting illicit goods from Belarus, government officials confirmed.

The measure comes after unauthorized aerial incursions disrupted air traffic repeatedly in recent days, with weekend disruptions, with the government also closing frontier checkpoints during these events.

Border checkpoints will now be closed indefinitely in response to the helium weather balloons.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said, "our nation stands prepared to implement maximum response protocols during unauthorized aerial intrusions."

National Security Actions

Outlining the strategy to media, Ruginiene said the army was taking "every required action" to intercept unauthorized devices.

Regarding frontier restrictions, the Prime Minister confirmed diplomatic movement continues across the international border, with special provisions for EU and Lithuanian nationals, however general movement continues suspended.

"This represents our clear message to foreign authorities and saying that no hybrid attack will be tolerated within our territory, and we'll implement maximum countermeasures to halt these operations," government officials declared.

Authorities received no prompt reaction from Belarus.

Alliance Coordination

Authorities will discuss with international allies about the security challenges presented and may discuss activating Nato's Article 4 - a provision enabling alliance discussion about national security issues, particularly involving territorial protection - officials noted.

Flight Cancellations

Lithuanian airports were closed three times over the weekend because of aerial devices from Belarus, affecting 112 flights and more than 16,500 passengers, per transportation authority data.

During the current month, 25 balloons entered Lithuania from Belarus, resulting in numerous canceled flights and passenger inconveniences, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre told the BBC.

These incidents continue previous patterns: as of 6 October, 544 balloons were recorded entering Lithuania from neighboring territory during current year, an NCMC spokesman said, while 966 were recorded last year.

European Context

Other European airports - including in Copenhagen and Munich - faced comparable aviation security challenges, involving unmanned aerial vehicles, in recent weeks.