More and more Belarusians
come to visit Lithuania by car

The Lithuanian Border Agency blamed a sharp increase in travelers for the long queues at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border checkpoints, BelTA has learnt.

Last weekend the Belarus-Lithuania border saw long queues of motors cars and trucks at Kamenny Log-Medininkai and Kotlovka-Lavoriskes, with travelers waiting for five hours at the neutral border-crossing territory after passing through the customs and border control at the Belarusian side.

According to head of the PR department of the Lithuanian Border Agency Giedrius Misutic, queues were formed at all main checkpoints of the Belarusian-Lithuanian border due to a skyrocketed number of travelers to Lithuania. “The situation at the weekend was unstable. There were long queues at the entry to Lithuania, and the reason for this is a huge number of travelers. For example, on Saturday the border checkpoint Benyakoni-Salcininkai accommodated nearly 300 trucks at a time when its rated capacity is only 200. The checkpoint is designed to handle 900 motor cars a day. On 28 April it accommodated 1000 either side. The same situation was at the Lavoriskes-Kotlovka,” the Lithuanian official said.

In his words, besides the main reason for an increased flow of motor cars at the weekend, there were also other reasons. Poland has recently lowered the number of heavy haulers (over 12 tonnes) able to cross its border. Apart from that this country reduced the amount of fuel allowed for being carried across the border in fuel tanks. Therefore many large goods vehicles have been forced to go to Poland via the Belarusian-Lithuanian border.

The Lithuanian side acknowledges that there has been a temporary failure in the operation of check systems for third-country visas, which also contributed to lengthy delays at the border.