GPS interference halts flights

The Finnish airline Finnair is suspending its flights to Tartu in Estonia for a month due to GPS interference.

The company announced this on Monday. The GPS disturbances can prevent the aircraft’s approach and landing, according to Finnair, which adds that disturbances are quite common in the area.

– Finnair is suspending its flights to Tartu in Estonia from 29 April to 31 May, so that a temporary approach solution that does not depend on GPS can be installed at the airport in Tartu, says the message from Finnair.

Last week, two Finnair flights on their way to Tartu had to turn around due to disturbances, the company further states.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told Estonian broadcaster EER on Monday that the GPS disruptions occurred as a result of deliberate actions, calling it a Russian hybrid attack.

– Russia knows very well that the disruption that was caused is very dangerous for our aviation and goes against international agreements that Russia has joined, Tsahkna told EER.

On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania warned in an interview with the Financial Times that widespread Russian interference with GPS signals increases the risk of plane crashes, referring to the Finnish flights that had to turn around.

Finnair is the only airline that has international flights at Tartu airport.