Despite GPS malfunctions: Finnair has resumed flights to Tartu
Finnair had to pause its flights to Tartu in Estonia for weeks. The technology now in use is intended to mitigate the effects of the persistent GPS disruptions.
A Finnair aircraft in Tartu (Estonia)
(Image: Finnair/Tartu AIrport)
Despite persistent satellite navigation problems in the eastern Baltic region, the airline Finnair has resumed its flights to Tartu in Estonia. Flights between Finland's capital and Estonia's second-largest city had to be paused for around five weeks as problems with GPS navigation affected the landing approach. Observers such as GPSJAM.org continue to indicate that satellite navigation in the area of the Baltic States on Russia's border is severely disrupted.
On Sunday, a plane with 26 passengers arrived in Tartu again for the first time, reported the Estonian daily newspaper "Postimees". A Finnair plane also landed the following day and returned to Finland with new passengers.
New systems for landing
The resumption of air traffic was made possible by newly installed systems on the ground. These enable radio-based distance measurement during the landing approach, i.e. during the phase in which two Finn-Air aircraft had to return at the end of April due to GPS disruptions. The tried-and-tested DME system measures the propagation delay of the radio signals. This requires a visual connection to the system on the ground.
DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) is in use worldwide and is used in lower airspace to provide an alternative in the event of weak or distorted satellite signals. Some countries also rely on DME to avoid becoming dependent on other countries that control satellite navigation systems.
Is Russia behind the interference?
"We are dealing with a new problem arising from geopolitical tensions, and we have responded and found a solution," said Üllar Salumäe, Director of the Aviation Department of the Estonian Transport Administration. Satellite navigation has been impaired over the Baltic Sea region for months. Western states suspect that the disruptions originate from Russia and are a reaction to the tensions that have built up between Russia and Western states as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
(mki)