Due to GPS interference, flights from Russia have been temporarily suspended at Tartu Airport

As written Delfi.lv, Last week two Finnair planes flying from Helsinki to Tartu lost contact with an Estonian airport due to GPS signal interference and were forced to return to Finland. The airline hopes that Tartu Airport will be able to install an alternative non-GPS navigation system by May, and then it will be able to resume flights. Finnair is the only airline that offers direct flights between Finland and Tartu.

According to Estonian Air Navigation Services (EANS), GPS interference has recently increased and is affecting air traffic procedures. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is investigating the situation, but says there are currently no imminent safety issues. Airplanes have various systems that allow you to understand the position of the aircraft. However, approaching the small Tartu airport at night requires GPS as the airport does not have instrument landing systems (ILS). This prompted both crews to decide to return to Helsinki.

Earlier, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stated that Russia is responsible for these disturbances and that they view these actions as hostile. The Financial Times, citing one source, wrote in its publication that Russia is jamming GPS signals to prevent drone attacks in Kaliningrad.

“If someone turns off the car’s lights while driving at night, it becomes dangerous. The situation in the Baltic Sea region near Russia’s borders is now becoming too dangerous to ignore,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.

According to Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, blocking the GPS signal in this region is a “hybrid Russian attack” that endangers the residents of the Baltic States. “We will clearly discuss this with our allies,” Tsahkna added.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Baiba Bražė, noted that the Baltic countries take GPS blocking incidents “seriously” and are “in contact with colleagues from other countries” on this issue.

Experts estimate that a total of “tens of thousands” of civil flights have experienced similar problems in recent months, according to the Financial Times. The interference also hampered communications used by ships sailing in the Baltic Sea.

An unnamed “senior official” who spoke to the Financial Times suggested that by jamming the GPS signal, the Russian military was trying to protect the Kaliningrad region from Ukrainian drone attacks.