NATO fighter jets scrambled as flights grounded and emergency phone alert issued

NATO fighter jets scrambled as flights grounded and emergency phone alert issued NATO fighter jets were scrambled in Vilnius, Lithuania, as residents received text message alerts and all flights were suspended at Vilnius International Airport An international airport has been closed in the capital of Lithuania after a possible drone sighting. NATO fighter jets were scrambled in Vilnius, Lithuania, as residents received text message alerts. All flights from Vilnius International Airport were suspended during the operation today. The yellow alert, issued by LT72 - Lithuania's emergency platform, was sent out at around 1pm local time (11am BST). It read: "AIR RAID ALERT (YELLOW). Potentially detected drone. Find a safe place. If you see a suspicious object, keep away, call 112. Wait for the all-clear." The alert was sent out to those in Vilnius city, Elektrėnai district, Trakai district and Vilnius district. Flights at Vilnius International Airport have now resumed, Delfi reports. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Center, told LRT radio: "People can calm down. (...) In principle, the threat level has been eliminated." After the situation was dealt with, residents in Vilnius received an alert stating: "The Lithuanian Armed Forces inform: air alert is over. You may leave safe places or shelters." According to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, radars near Varėna detected an object moving towards the Kaliningrad region. The military later said: "After the radar tag left Lithuanian airspace, there was no reason to declare an air alert."