Third major European airport SHUTS over mystery drone sighting after Belgian travel hubs disrupted sparking flight chaos

A MAJOR European airport has been forced to suspend operations due to another unusual drone appearance nearby.

Lithuania’s largest airport was shutdown this morning in the third serious case of drone chaos across the continent.

Lithuania’s largest airport was struck with another closure and forced to suspend operationsCredit: Getty

The airport has been suspended due to an unusual sighting of a drone in the airspace (stock)Credit: Getty

A spokesperson from the Vilnius airport in the capital of Lithuania said: “Preliminary information indicates that the decision to restrict airspace was made after a drone was detected within the Vilnius Airport area”.

It comes as two of Belgium’s main international airports were also brought to a standstill yesterday evening by suspicious drones.

All air traffic was suspended at Brussels Airport in the capital and Liège Airport, in the east.

The airport was closed as a safety precaution however some planes were diverted to Liège Airport, a smaller nearby airport.

However that was also closed off soon after when drones were also spotted in the premises.

Verwilligen explained: “When a drone is spotted, the standard procedure is to halt flights for at least 30 minutes, to allow time for necessary checks and to ensure there are no further unwanted overflights.

“That’s what happened here.”

A spokesperson for Brussels Airport said earlier: “There are no flights currently landing or taking off.”

Vilnius airport has experienced a significant amount of closures in the past few months due to strange flying objects in the sky.

Balloons stuffed with thousands of cigarettes caused chaos in Lithuania after floating across the border from Belarus – forcing Vilnius Airport to shut down.

Authorities were left stunned when 25 giant meteorological balloons were spotted drifting into Lithuanian airspace, triggering a full-scale alert by the National Crisis Management Centre.

Two of the helium-filled balloons flew directly over the airport, grounding flights and sending air traffic into disarray.

Officials immediately closed the airport as a precaution, leading to 30 flight cancellations and throwing 6,000 passengers’ travel plans into turmoil.

A Vilnius Airport spokesperson said: “The shutdown led to 30 flight cancellations, putting a pause to 6,000 passengers’ travel plans.”

They warned that delays could continue for days as crews worked to clear the skies.

The bizarre airspace breach sparked fears of Russian involvement, with investigators pointing to neighbouring Belarus – a country run by Alexander Lukashenko, one of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron grip for more than 30 years, is heavily dependent on Moscow’s financial and political support.

He has previously allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory to launch troops into Ukraine during the invasion in 2022.

The mysterious balloons were reportedly stuffed with counterfeit cigarette packs, believed to be part of a cross-border smuggling operation.

Officials say the items were released from Belarus and carried by wind into Lithuania – a blatant violation of international airspace.

The National Crisis Management Centre said the intrusion was being treated as a serious security breach.

The airspace chaos comes amid rising tensions across Europe, with a string of drone incursions in recent months also suspected to have Russian links.

Major airports across the continent have faced similar disruptions, though the Kremlin has denied any involvement in recent incidents.

Vilnius airport has experienced a significant amount of closures in the past few monthsCredit: Alamy