Another European Airport Shuts After Unidentified Object Spotted Over It

Commercial flights bound for Vilnius Čiurlionis International Airport were diverted on Saturday evening following reports of an unidentified object near the airfield, Lithuanian authorities have said. The incident prompted a temporary suspension of air traffic as investigators worked to determine the nature of the object. Several inbound aircraft were rerouted to nearby airports, including Riga in Latvia, aviation tracking data and eyewitness reports suggested. Lithuanian air traffic control briefly halted operations while the situation was assessed. The exact nature of the object remains unclear, and investigations are ongoing. According to flight-tracking platform Flightradar24, at least eight flights were diverted due to the disruption. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the tracker said: “Vilnius Airport has now issued a NOTAM closing the airfield until 2330 UTC (about 90 minutes from now). Additional inbound flights diverting.” A separate post from Flightradar24 quoted the airport notice as saying: “AERODROME CLOSED DUE TO METEO BALLOONS ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE AIRFIELD.” Similar incidents have been reported at Vilnius Airport in recent months. In September, flight operations were halted twice following suspected drone activity near the facility, causing delays. On another occasion, a flight bound for Vilnius was diverted to Riga after an unidentified flying object was detected, though no threat was confirmed. Vilnius Čiurlionis International Airport, Lithuania’s busiest air hub, has not yet issued an official statement on Saturday’s incident.Vilnius Čiurlionis International Airport is the latest European airport to face closures in recent times. Munich airport was shut twice in 24 hours after sightings of drones nearby. A spate of sightings over several airports across Denmark and Norway in recent weeks saw tens of thousands of passengers hit.