Ryanair Turin–Vilnius flight diverted to Riga following reports of drones over the Lithuanian airport
Flight RYR8366 / FR8366 from Turin to Vilnius was reported diverted to Riga on the night of September 21. Air traffic control sources indicate drone activity over Vilnius Airport. Latvia issued an air alert in Krāslava that same night.
Ryanair flight RYR8366 (commercially FR8366), operating the Turin Caselle–Vilnius route, was reported diverted to Riga tonight. According to information attributed to air traffic control, there was ongoing drone activity over Vilnius International Airport (VNO), preventing landing at the intended destination. The Ryanair Boeing 737-800 departed Turin around 8:13 PM CEST, with a scheduled arrival in Vilnius near midnight (Baltic time). Public flight trackers still listed the flight as "airborne" and delayed for VNO; official confirmation of the diversion from Ryanair, Lithuanian Airports, or LGS had not been released at the time of writing.
This report fits a pattern the Baltic region has been experiencing for months. In May, a single radar contact shut down Vilnius, sent the president and prime minister to a shelter, and diverted flights—two of which, SK744 and TK1407, went to Riga. On September 13, the airport halted operations again for about 38 minutes; NATO Eurofighter jets based in Šiauliai identified the radar return as a flock of birds. Two flights diverted to Kaunas, while another, arriving from Warsaw, turned back. On September 15, Lithuania announced that a NATO fighter jet had shot down a drone that had reportedly entered via Belarus.
On the same night flight RYR8366 was flying over Central Europe, the Latvian Armed Forces issued a "yellow alert" regarding a potential airspace threat in the Krāslava municipality in southeastern Latvia and scrambled Baltic Air Policing fighter jets. Riga (RIX) is the natural diversion point: it is located about 260 km from Vilnius, Ryanair has bolstered its Latvian base this winter, and the airport has established procedures for short-term closures caused by drones on the landing path.
Until Lithuanian authorities and the airline confirm the details, the situation stands as follows: a low-cost night flight caught up in the security dynamics of NATO’s eastern border—the same dynamics that this week prompted Poland to scramble F-16s and Latvia to send "yellow alert" text messages to Krāslava. Passengers should follow instructions from Ryanair and their flight tracking apps; Riga typically arranges onward travel by road or via a second flight leg once VNO reopens.
by Flyghtradar
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