Suspected Russian GPS jamming ‘too dangerous to ignore’: Baltic officials

LONDON

Baltic officials warned of the dangers of GPS interference after Finland’s national airline Finnair said Monday that it is suspending flights to an Estonian city for a month after two of its planes were prevented from landing in Tartu because of GPS disruptions.

Baltic government ministers including from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have said the suspected Russian jamming of GPS flight systems has become “too dangerous to ignore.”

Two Finnair flights last week had to divert back to Helsinki after GPS interference prevented them from landing at the airport in the southern part of Estonia.

Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna described the incident as a "hybrid attack" by Russia.

“This is a deliberate action that interferes with our lives lived in a dangerous situation and this can be considered as a hybrid attack,” Tsahkna told Estonian national broadcaster ERR.

"If someone turns off your headlights while you’re driving at night, it gets dangerous. Things in the Baltic region near Russian borders are now getting too dangerous to ignore," Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the British newspaper the Financial Times.

“We consider what is happening with GPS as part of Russia’s hostile activities, and we will definitely discuss it with our allies,” he said.

Landsbergis further warned that such actions are “a hybrid attack” and are “a threat to our people and security,” which he said will not be tolerated by the Baltic states.

Latvia's Foreign Minister Baiba Braze also said his country was taking the incidents “seriously.”

Finnair said it will suspend its flights to Tartu for one month, during which time the aim is to build approach methods at the airport to ensure a safe and smooth operation without a GPS signal, according to an earlier statement by the carrier.

"We apologize for the inconvenience the suspension causes to our customers. Flight safety is always our top priority, and as the approach to Tartu currently requires a GPS signal, we cannot fly there in the event of GPS interference," said Jari Paajanen, Finnair's director of operations.

Most airports use alternative approach methods, but some airports, such as Tartu, only use methods that require a GPS signal to support them, according to Paajanen.

Paajanen said that when GPS isn’t being relied upon for airport approaches, disruptions to the service don’t typically result in safety issues.

“Our pilots are well aware of the issue, and the aircraft have other navigation systems that can be used when the GPS system is unserviceable,” he said.

But Tsahkna warned that the GPS interference carried out “by Russia” is so dangerous that it could cause a crash.

Since 2022, GPS interference has increased, especially near Kaliningrad, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, according to Finnair.