Lithuania airport closed due to drone alert - UPDATED

Lithuania scrambled a NATO fighter jet and suspended operations at Vilnius Airport for 40 minutes after mistaking a flock of birds for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Operativ Media reports, citing Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center.

"On radar, birds and drones, at first glance, leave the same tracks," the center emphasized.

The alert was lifted after the fighter jet conducted a visual identification in the airspace.

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Operations at the airport in the capital, Vilnius, have been temporarily suspended due to the sighting of unmanned aerial vehicles in Lithuanian airspace.

Operativ Media reports, citing Reuters.

According to reports, at least one NATO fighter jet was scrambled after UAVs were detected in the country's airspace.

The fighter jet took off from the Siauliai airbase located in northern Lithuania.

Arrivals and departures at Vilnius International Airport have been suspended due to the sighting of unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles.