On April 29th, Finnair has suspended its flights to Tartu, Estonia, because of interference with the GPS signals over the Baltic Sea region. Last week, two planes heading towards Estonia’s second-largest city already had to turn around due to that so-called jamming. Estonia now blames Russia for the interference.
“Finnair will suspend its daily flights to Tartu, Estonia, from 29 April to 31 May, so that an alternative approach solution that does not require a GPS signal can be put in place at Tartu Airport,” Finnair said in a statement.
“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,” says Jari Paajanen, Finnair’s Director of Operations.
GPS interference has increased since 2022, and Finnair pilots have reported interference especially near Kaliningrad, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. 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. Even though no one has been able to prove this so far, Russia is being considered as the most probable cause behind the issue.
Earlier in April 2024, the German Defence Ministry mentioned the problem above the Baltic Sea and accused Russia, citing Kaliningrad as the source. Details weren’t provided due to “military security” reasons. According to industry group OpsGroup, GPS jamming has also grown worse in Eastern Europe, the Black Sea and the Middle East – in other words, all areas close to conflict zones.
In an interview with Estonian public broadcaster ERR, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna blames Russia for what he calls a “hybrid attack”. He also said he plans on raising the issue with his neighbouring countries, at the EU and NATO, as the jamming not only disrupts the lives of those living in the region but could also put people’s lives at risk.
“Russia knows very well that the interference they are causing is very dangerous for our air traffic”, he told ERR. So far, nor the Kremlin nor Russia’s Defence Ministry have responded to any accusations about GPS jamming.
