Nato sends jet to airport ‘drone sighting’ that turned out to be flock of birds
- Vilnius airport was briefly closed and a NATO fighter jet scrambled following a suspected drone sighting in Lithuanian airspace.
- The air alert was lifted and the airport reopened within 38 minutes after the object was visually identified as a flock of birds.
- An Italian air force jet stationed in northern Lithuania conducted the visual check after radar marks initially mirrored those of a drone.
- Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre confirmed the false alarm, which occurred amid heightened fears of Ukraine war spillover in the Baltic region.
- The Vilnius marathon, which was taking place in the capital at the time of the alert, continued without interruption.
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