Finnish airline Finnair has suspended all flights to Tartu, Estonia’s second-largest city, due to GPS signal interference.
Finnish airline Finnair, the only carrier operating at Tartu airport, has suspended all flights to Estonia’s second-largest city until May 31. The reason? Finnair cites interference with GPS signals over the Baltic Sea region.
Last Friday, two Finnair flights from Helsinki to Tartu were forced to turn back. “The GPS interference in Tartu forces us to suspend flights until alternative solutions have been established,” Finnair said in a statement released on Monday.
The GPS interference in Tartu forces us to suspend flights until alternative solutions have been established.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna viewed the GPS jamming as an attack and blamed Russia, saying he intended to raise the issue with the European Union and NATO.
He also told Estonian media ERR that there was ample evidence of the origin of the interference. “It’s from near St Petersburg, near Pskov, Kaliningrad,” he added. In his opinion, this is a “deliberate action that is disrupting our lives, putting people’s lives at risk.”
Russia, “the most likely culprit”
GPS jamming has occurred regularly in the Baltic Sea region since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, and Russia is considered to be the most likely culprit, although its responsibility has never been proven.
Mr. Tsahkna said the Estonian authorities, in collaboration with Finnair, are working to find solutions to restore air traffic in Tartu.
GPS is playing an increasingly important role in aviation, replacing the radio beams used to guide aircraft to land. Aircraft can fly safely without a GPS signal, but interference deprives pilots of an important source of geolocation for landing.
“Typically, GPS interference does not affect flight routes or flight safety, as pilots are well aware of it and aircraft have alternative systems in place that are used when the GPS signal is interfered with,” Finnair explained. However, the airport in Estonia’s second-largest city relies exclusively on a GPS signal for approach and landing. “Most airports use alternative approach methods, but some airports, such as Tartu, only use methods that require a GPS signal to support them,” added Jari Paajanen, Finnair’s Director of Operations, in the statement.
The carrier has been reporting GPS disruptions in this area since 2022, the start of the war in Ukraine, particularly near the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea coast, but also in the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the eastern Mediterranean.
However, a spokesman said the company did not know where the interference was coming from. “We have no information,” he said.
Significant increase in GPS interference incidents
In January, the aviation industry called on regulators to take urgent action against GPS spoofing, arguing that conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East were causing an upsurge in this type of activity, which can throw airliners off course.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the European Aviation Regulator (EASA) then organized a meeting in Cologne, Germany, to bring together airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and aeronautical technology companies, as well as national and regional regulators, to discuss the issue.
“Airlines are seeing a significant rise in incidents of GNSS interference. To counter this, we need coordinated collection and sharing of GNSS safety data; universal procedural GNSS incident guidance from aircraft manufacturers; a commitment from states to retain traditional navigation systems as backup in cases where GNSS are spoofed or jammed. In actioning these items, the support and resources of EASA and other governmental authorities are essential. And airlines will be critical partners,” concluded IATA Director General Willie Walsh at the end of the meeting.
Last month, Germany declared that Russia was most likely behind a series of disruptions affecting shipping in the Baltic Sea region. The German Defense Ministry pointed to Kaliningrad as the source of the disruption, but refused to give details, citing “military security reasons.”
Moscow did not comment on the accusations.
