A Lithuanian Spartan military transport aircraft, carrying the country’s top political leadership, was forced to remain in the air due to an unidentified drone spotted circling near the airport.
LRT reported on this.
On board were President Gitanas Nausėda, First Lady Diana Nausėdienė, and a Lithuanian delegation returning from a visit to Finland.
As the aircraft approached Vilnius Airport, the crew received information about the presence of a drone near the airfield, making the landing unsafe.
The plane circled the outskirts of Vilnius for about half an hour. Once it was confirmed that there was no longer any danger to the aircraft, permission to land was granted.
Lithuanian law enforcement is working to identify the specific drone that disrupted air traffic. They have promised to make the obtained information public as soon as it becomes available.
It is worth noting that a similar incident had already occurred in Lithuania, as reported on August 20. On the night of August 19-20, air traffic over the capital was suspended for approximately 30 minutes and was fully resumed at 12:35 a.m.
Due to the disruption, the departure of a flight to Tel Aviv was delayed, and several arriving aircraft were forced to circle in a holding pattern before landing, resulting in delays of 15 to 20 minutes.
