Vilnius airport closed twice on Friday due to suspected drones

Operations at Vilnius airport were temporarily suspended twice on 26 September, reportedly due to drones spotted nearby.

Source: Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The airspace was closed at around 19:14 and reopened half an hour later, at 19:37.

"It is possible that drones were detected, so the airspace was temporarily closed and one flight was delayed," Rasa Petrauskaitė, a representative of Lithuanian Airports, told the Baltic News Service (BNS).

She said a flight operated by LOT Polish Airlines had been delayed because of the flying objects.

A duty officer from the Vilnius County Police told BNS that they received a report of a drone flying over Gelūnai Street at 19:17, but when officers went to the scene they found nothing.

Petrauskaitė added that a similar incident occurred earlier on Friday, when airport operations were disrupted around noon due to a suspected drone.

"All our colleagues at the airport have been informed… the situation is being monitored," the Lithuanian Airports representative said.

Background:

• Vilnius airport also suspended operations on Thursday 25 September due to a possible drone sighting.
• Similar drone-related incidents have become increasingly frequent in recent weeks, particularly in Denmark.
• In the early hours of Friday, unidentified drones were also spotted over Sweden’s Karlskrona archipelago.

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