Lithuania closes Vilnius airport, NATO summons jets in response to possible drone
NATO fighter jets found the suspected drone was a flock of birds, and the alert ended after flights were suspended for 38 minutes, officials said.
- On Sunday, Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport after a potential drone sighting in Lithuanian airspace, prompting NATO to summon a fighter jet from Siauliai, the National Crisis Management Centre said.
- Authorities issued a yellow air alert across Vilnius and surrounding districts, instructing residents to locate shelters and call 112 if they observed suspicious objects, per the NCMC.
- The NCMC confirmed the perceived drone threat was actually a flock of birds after the NATO jet completed its visual identification, allowing the airport to reopen within about an hour.
- Officials later designated the situation "code white," signaling the air alert was over and residents could leave shelters; normal operations resumed across the capital.
- Countries along NATO's eastern edge have reported frequent drone incursions linked to the conflict stemming from Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reflecting persistent security challenges for the region.
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Cedarnews.net. . Vilnius, 14 Sep (SANA) A large flock of birds triggered an air alert in Lithuania this Sunday, which forced the airport to be temporarily closed. Cedarnews . .
NATO fighter jets stationed in Lithuania were scrambled due to a possible drone threat in Lithuanian airspace, but the object detected by radar turned out to be a flock of birds.
NATO fighter jets were scrambled and Vilnius Airport was temporarily closed after a flock of birds was mistaken for a drone in Lithuanian airspace. The heightened security vigilance in the three Baltic states due to recent frequent drone provocations by Russia was cited as the cause of this incident.
At a time when security measures for airspace were being increased across Europe, suspicious activity detected by radars in Lithuania put NATO on alert. A "yellow alert" was issued in and around Vilnius due to the object, which was believed to be a drone, and NATO fighter jets were scrambled.
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