Lithuania clarified that an incident involving a suspected drone in its airspace on Sunday, leading to the closure of Vilnius airport and the dispatch of a NATO fighter jet, turned out to be a group of birds. The country’s National Crisis Management Centre stated that the air alert was lifted and the airport resumed operations after the NATO jet visually confirmed the situation. The Centre explained that initial radar readings can sometimes mistake bird movements for drones.
A fighter jet was deployed from Siauliai in northern Lithuania, where the Italian air force is currently stationed as part of the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission. Concerns have risen over military drones straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, amid fears that the conflict in Ukraine might impact NATO’s northern borders with Russia. Meanwhile, the Vilnius marathon continued without interruption, according to organizers.
Earlier in August, German authorities reported an incident at Leipzig/Halle Airport where an employee discovered a drone carrying an unknown explosive device in the cargo operations zone. NATO remains vigilant in monitoring airspace threats over eastern Europe, especially with ongoing drone sightings causing disruptions at airports in the region.