Lithuania will reopen two border posts with Belarus on 21 November, ending a month-long closure imposed after smuggler-launched balloons disrupted Vilnius airspace. Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the security situation has eased and air-traffic incursions have fallen sharply.
Poland, which had closed its own Kukuryki–Kazłovicy and Sejny–Hrodna crossings in solidarity with Lithuania, quietly reopened them earlier this week. Freight operators report that truck queues on the vital east-west corridor have already shortened by 30–40 minutes.
![Belarus–Lithuania Border Reopens; Poland Restarts Two Crossings Near Suwałki Corridor]()
The lifting of controls is good news for manufacturers running just-in-time supply chains between Poland and the Baltics, including automotive plants in Białystok and e-commerce hubs near Suwałki. HR teams moving personnel on short-term assignments should still brief travellers to carry passports, as spot checks may persist while authorities monitor for renewed balloon launches.
Politically, the episode underlines how so-called “hybrid threats” can trigger sudden border closures, even inside the Schengen neighbourhood. Mobility policies should therefore include contingency routing via Latvia or the Kaliningrad ferry in case crossings shut again.
Customs brokers advise shippers to pre-lodge manifests electronically to secure early queue positions and to consider night-time departures, when traffic is lighter and inspection teams are currently fully staffed to clear backlogs.
Poland, which had closed its own Kukuryki–Kazłovicy and Sejny–Hrodna crossings in solidarity with Lithuania, quietly reopened them earlier this week. Freight operators report that truck queues on the vital east-west corridor have already shortened by 30–40 minutes.
The lifting of controls is good news for manufacturers running just-in-time supply chains between Poland and the Baltics, including automotive plants in Białystok and e-commerce hubs near Suwałki. HR teams moving personnel on short-term assignments should still brief travellers to carry passports, as spot checks may persist while authorities monitor for renewed balloon launches.
Politically, the episode underlines how so-called “hybrid threats” can trigger sudden border closures, even inside the Schengen neighbourhood. Mobility policies should therefore include contingency routing via Latvia or the Kaliningrad ferry in case crossings shut again.
Customs brokers advise shippers to pre-lodge manifests electronically to secure early queue positions and to consider night-time departures, when traffic is lighter and inspection teams are currently fully staffed to clear backlogs.
