After two Finnair aircraft were forced to turn around due to interference with GPS signals from Russia, the Baltic foreign ministers warned this could lead to an aviation disaster.
On April 25-26, two Finnair flights from Helsinki to the Estonian city of Tartu were forced to turn around and return to Finland, as they were unable to navigate safely to their planned destination.
“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,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told 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. Such actions are a hybrid attack and are a threat to our people and security, and we will not tolerate them,” added Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Experts say that tens of thousands of civilian aircraft in the region have been affected by GPS jamming in recent months. The Swedish Navy has also issued a warning on maritime safety.
No country has claimed responsibility for the GPS interference, but officials say they are almost certain that Russia is responsible, operating from Kaliningrad and elsewhere in the country.
“We take these incidents seriously. Our relevant institutions are in touch with colleagues in other countries,” said Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze.
Juho Sinkkonen, head of flight operations at Finnair, said that GPS interference had been increasing since 2022 and was “a nuisance with no imminent safety impact”.
Most airports have equipment to allow planes to land without GPS, but Tartu “is one of the few airports where the approach procedures require a GPS signal”, he told the Financial Times. (LRT)