GPS jamming: no more flights to the airport in Estonia for the time being
GPS signals in the eastern Baltic Sea were disrupted for months, but aviation remained unaffected. However, this led to consequences for Tartu, Estonia.
(Bild: Finnair/Tartu Airport)
Due to the ongoing GPS disruptions in the eastern Baltic Sea region, flights to the airport of Estonia's second largest city will be suspended immediately and for a month. This was announced by the Finnish airline Finnair, which connects the airport of the European Capital of Culture Tartu with Helsinki. This means that Tartu Airport will be closed for the time being and there are no other connections. According to Finnair, two planes had to return to Helsinki last week because GPS interference had prevented them from landing in Tartu. The airline relies on satellite navigation there. The interference is "quite frequent" in the area and the next few weeks will be used to work out alternative methods to ensure a safe and problem-free landing.
Approaches only resumed a month ago
Normally, GPS disruptions would not affect flight routes or have any consequences for safety, Finnair writes. Pilots are aware of the consequences and can fall back on other systems to determine their position. In Tartu, however, they must use GPS when flying below 3000 meters, the airport adds. Alternative systems are now being worked on to enable take-offs and landings when the GPS signal is disrupted. The plan is to resume flight operations from May 31. Finnair has only been flying to Tartu again for a month; before that, there had been no flight connections to and from the city, which is a few dozen kilometers from the Russian border and is a European Capital of Culture this year, since autumn 2022.
It is not only in the Baltic Sea region that large-scale GPS interference has been observed for months; it appears to be targeted jamming of the associated signals. There is speculation as to the cause, with Russia in particular being suspected, as it has the necessary technology and could be trying to prevent drone attacks. However, NATO units also have the military capability to jam GPS signals over a large radius. Finnair now explains that interference is mainly observed in the area around the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, but also in the Black and Caspian Seas and in the eastern Mediterranean. Israel recently had GPS signals jammed there in order to make attacks more difficult.
(mho)