“Finnair” suspends flights to Tartu for a month due to GPS signal interference

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania told the “Financial Times” newspaper that GPS signal disturbances have been observed in the Baltic countries in recent weeks. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Cahkna has announced that what is happening in the vicinity of the Tartu airport is a Russian hybrid attack.

“GPS signal jamming is part of Russia’s hostile actions, and we will certainly discuss this issue with our allies as well. It is a threat to our people and security, and we will not tolerate it,” Cahkna said.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that the situation in the Baltic Sea region has become too dangerous to ignore.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Baiba Braže, stated that such incidents are taken seriously and the responsible institutions of Latvia cooperate with colleagues from other countries.

Experts have pointed out that GPS signal interference has affected tens of thousands of civil aircraft flights in the Baltic States region in recent months. Blocking the signal also affects navigation in the Baltic Sea and car navigation systems. The Swedish Navy has issued a warning about shipping safety risks.

According to experts, GPS signal interference can be caused by relatively cheap equipment.

Although no one has claimed responsibility for causing the signal interference, officials in the region have no doubt that it is being caused by Russia, both from its core territory and from the Königsberg exclave.

Britain confirmed in March that a government plane carrying Defense Minister Grant Shapps had experienced GPS signal interference near Koenigsberg on its way home from Poland.