Vilnius airport temporarily closed on Sunday, September 13, 2026, after a suspected drone sighting triggered an emergency NATO jet response. Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre later confirmed that the perceived threat was actually a flock of birds, allowing normal operations to resume within 38 minutes.
A routine Sunday in Lithuania’s capital transformed into an active security incident when radar systems picked up aerial anomalies near Vilnius airport. The unexpected reading prompted immediate defensive protocols across the Baltic state, forcing aviation authorities to halt arrivals and departures while military commanders alerted the alliance’s quick-reaction forces.
NATO Jet Scrambled From Siauliai Base
Reacting to the potential airspace breach, military command dispatched at least one fighter jet from the air base in Siauliai in northern Lithuania. The aircraft belonged to the Italian air force detachment currently stationed in the region to support the Nato Baltic Air Defence mission.
The scrambled jet conducted a visual sweep of the sector, quickly establishing that the radar targets posed no hostile danger. Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre reported that the alert ended and the airport reopened within 38 minutes of the initial disruption.
“On initial radar readings, marks left by birds and drones can be similar,”
National Crisis Management Centre, via Reuters
Marathon Uninterrupted Amid Regional Tensions
While the airport shutdown and fighter scramble caught travelers off guard, the capital’s public events continued without major interference. Organizers of the Vilnius marathon confirmed to Reuters that the athletic competition was not interrupted by the brief security lockdown playing out in the skies above the city.
Even though Sunday’s incident proved to be a false alarm caused by birds, the swift military reaction underscores heightened anxieties across the eastern flank. Military drones straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are stoking concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over into NATO’s northern borders with Russia.
This regional caution follows an incident in August when a NATO F-18 fighter jet operating on an air policing mission shot down a drone that unlawfully entered Romanian airspace. That aircraft was initially detected by radar as it crossed into Romanian territory from neighboring Moldova, 24 km north of the south-eastern city of Galati. Although Romania’s defence ministry did not specify the drone’s origin, NATO representatives suggested a Russian link. Romania, a NATO member with a 614 km (381 miles) land border with Ukraine, has recorded numerous airspace incursions by Russian drones over the last four years, alongside floating sea mines threatening key Black Sea shipping and energy routes.
NATO was also forced to scramble jets in response to Russian violations of Lithuania’s airspace in October last year. Two Russian military aircraft, an Su-30 fighter jet and an Il-78 refuelling tanker, flew over the NATO member state for approximately 18 seconds, prompting a formal reaction from the alliance. They were possibly on a refuelling training mission, the military said.
“I strongly condemn the violation of Lithuanian airspace by the fighter jet and transport plane of the Russian Federation from a Kaliningrad region site,”
Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda
Russia’s defence ministry denied the incident and said none of its Su-30 jets training in the Kaliningrad region violated the territory of any country. Reporting was provided by Andrius Sytas, with editing by Philippa Fletcher, Christina Fincher, and Susan Fenton.
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