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Drone Near Vilnius Airport Delays Plane Carrying Lithuanian President and First Lady
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
A Lithuanian Air Force Spartan military transport plane carrying the country’s top political leadership was forced to delay its landing in Vilnius after air traffic control reported a drone flying near the airport, Lithuanian outlet LRT reported on September 2.
On board were President Gitanas Nausėda, First Lady Diana Nausėdienė, and a Lithuanian delegation returning from Finland.
As the aircraft approached Vilnius Airport, pilots received word of a drone sighting in the vicinity, forcing them to delay landing. For nearly 30 minutes, the plane circled the outskirts of Vilnius before being cleared once officials determined there was no immediate threat.
Presidential communications adviser Tomas Beržinskas said, “As the plane approached Vilnius Airport, information was received that a drone had been spotted and it was not yet safe to land. The pilots then took all necessary safety measures and, after some time, landed.”
According to FlightRadar24 tracking data, the Lithuanian Air Force Spartan—which had departed from Helsinki, where the European Basketball Championship is underway—was due to land in Vilnius at 8:40 p.m. local time but touched down at 9:16 p.m.
Lithuania’s air navigation authority confirmed safety protocols were triggered after aviation security reported a drone near Liepkalnis, close to the airport.
“Flight safety procedures were activated—flights were briefly suspended, and once information was received that there was no threat, traffic was resumed. Together with other services, we are investigating what type of drone disrupted air traffic. As soon as we have the latest information, we will share it,” the agency said.
Lithuanian law enforcement is now working to determine the origin of the drone.
This is not the first such incident. On August 19–20, drone activity near Vilnius forced a 30-minute suspension of air traffic, delaying a Tel Aviv-bound departure and forcing several inbound flights into holding patterns before landing.
Earlier, Lithuania launched the Thunder Strike military training exercises, bringing together around 17,000 Lithuanian and allied troops ahead of the Zapad drills planned by Russia and Belarus later this month.
