A Lithuanian military aircraft with the country’s president on board was unable to land at Vilnius Airport for some time on Tuesday night due to a suspected drone sighting.
“As we approached Vilnius Airport, we received information that a drone had been spotted and that it was unsafe to land at that time. The pilots then took all necessary safety measures and landed after a while,” Tomas Berzinskas, the spokesperson of President Gitanas Nausėda, told the 15min news website on Tuesday night.
In July, two separate incidents involving Russian drones entering Lithuania prompted increased attention to air defences around the country's capital.
Oro Navigacija (Air Navigation) said the drone on Tuesday was spotted in Liepkalnis, an area of Vilnius near the airport.
“Flights were temporarily suspended and, once information was received that there was no threat, traffic was resumed. We are working with other services to determine which drone disrupted aircraft traffic. We will share the latest information as soon as we have it,” the air navigation service provider added.
On Wednesday, the Transport Ministry clarified that the drone was in the air for "advertising purposes".
“The circumstances of the incident are currently being investigated by the responsible authorities. The public will be informed immediately upon receipt of the latest information," the ministry said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Flights at Vilnius Airport were also temporarily suspended at the end of August due to a drone sighting.
At the time, Oro Navigacija said that the drone belonged to a private security firm, which was disputed by the owner of the company.
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