Lithuanian pilot fined for ads

Sep 28, 2000
TBT staff

Kairys will have to pay a 5000 litas ($1,250) fine because, officials say, he advertised tobacco by having the West tobacco company's logo on the wings of his small Su-26 plane.

Kairys, one of the world's leading acrobatic pilots, flew his plane upside down under the King Mindaugas pedestrian bridge that spans Kaunas' Nemunas River. Approximately a quarter of a million spectators came to on Sept. 2. Kairys, 48, performed the stunt at a speed of some 250 kilometers per hour under a bridge just 12 meters above the water. This flight was shown on CNN, ZDF and other worldwide television networks.

After the respective authorities suggested to fine the pilot and media which covered the event, Lithuanian PM Andrius Kubilius initiated legal amendments to postpone the total ban on tobacco ads by 2006 - the same date as European Union countries.

If the fine is imposed, Kairys said that he would not be able to perform stunts when flying his plane. Parliamentary chairman Vytautas Landsbergis offered to cover the fine for the pilot.

EU member states are gradually introducing a ban on advertising of cigarettes, with a plan to entirely prohibit all kinds of tobacco advertising by 2006. This May, a total ban was placed on advertising of tobacco products in Lithuania.

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