Lithuanian authorities shut down airspace over Vilnius Airport on September 13 after detecting what appeared to be an unauthorized drone near the capital. A yellow alert was activated around 13:00 local time, sending residents scrambling for shelter while NATO dispatched a fighter jet from its Baltic Air Policing mission.
The closure lasted approximately 30 to 40 minutes. When the dust settled, no drone was actually confirmed, no hostile activity materialized, and normal air travel resumed without injuries or damage.
What happened over Vilnius
After the potential drone was flagged, Lithuanian Armed Forces issued emergency notifications urging people in Vilnius and surrounding areas to seek shelter and report any sightings of unidentified objects in the sky.
NATO’s response was equally swift. A fighter jet was scrambled from the alliance’s Baltic Air Policing rotation, a standing mission that keeps combat aircraft on alert in the region specifically for situations like this one. The jets patrol the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, none of which operate their own fighter fleets.
