Due to GPS problems, the only airline operating international flights to Tartu has canceled all flights.
Finnair will temporarily not fly to Tartu
A leading international airline has canceled all flights to one of Estonia's airports until at least June due to "GPS interference in the area". Finnair said that flights to Tartu cannot be safe.
We are suspending flights to Tartu from April 29 to May 31. The approach methods currently used at Tartu Airport are based on the GPS signal, and GPS interference in the area affects the usability of this method.
Russia is often suspected of jamming or tampering with GPS signals near its borders. Tartu Airport is located approximately 40 km from the Russian border.
Finnair said it is working on "an alternative solution that does not require a GPS signal".
Last week, two Finnair flights were forced to return to Helsinki after GPS interference prevented them from landing in Tartu. On April 25 and 26, an evening flight from the Finnish capital refused the planned landing and turned around.
Finnair is the only airline that operates international flights to and from Tartu.
The systems on Finnair aircraft detect GPS interference, our pilots are well aware of this problem and the aircraft are equipped with other navigation systems that can be used when the GPS system is not working. Most airports use alternative approach methods, but some airports, like Tartu, only use methods that require a GPS signal to support them. "Due to GPS interference in Tartu, we are forced to suspend flights until alternative solutions are found," company representative Jari Pajanen said.
Finnair claims that GPS interference has increased significantly since 2022. Airline pilots reported obstacles in the Kaliningrad area. GPS interference was also found in the Black and Caspian seas and the eastern Mediterranean. It comes in two forms: jamming, which prevents pilots from learning their exact location via GPS, and spoofing, where the aircraft's systems trick them into showing an incorrect position.
Baltic states say about Russia's hybrid attack
Russia regularly jams GPS signals in the Baltic Sea area, threatening civil aviation.
The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania stated this in a conversation with the Financial Times.
If someone turns off your headlights while you're driving at night, it becomes dangerous. The situation in the Baltic region near the Russian borders is now becoming too dangerous to ignore, said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielus Landsbergis.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna added that the Baltic states consider GPS jamming a "hybrid attack by the Russian Federation" that poses a danger to their citizens.
We will certainly discuss this with our allies.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braje added that the Baltic states "take the incidents" with GPS seriously and are "in contact with colleagues from other states" on this issue.
