“We have to remember that we live next door to a terrorist state.” Dean that attempts to jam GPS signals should be taken seriously

“We have to remember that we live next to a terrorist country,” Eriks Lingebērzins, dean of the Faculty of International Tourism of the “Turība” business school, said on TV24’s “Press Club” program about GPS signal interference caused by Russia, which is very dangerous and can lead to an air disaster.

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He reminds us that the elements of hybrid warfare come in all possible forms, and it is a matter of our joint preparedness for a variety of scenarios that include, among others, all possible hybrid threat risks.

“I think this is a serious signal,” he admitted, adding that the Civil Aviation Agency (CVA), which is responsible for these matters, should take this into account and act accordingly.

Lingebērziņš emphasizes that the aviation sector in general is sufficiently developed in Latvia: “We are, in a sense, one of the regional aviation centers. And I believe that our specialists have the knowledge and understanding of this issue and, I hope, approach this issue with enough responsibility, because aviation is one of those elements of critical infrastructure that is very important to us, because we have the sea on one side, on the other side we have a wall of imagination, and then aviation is what connects us to the rest of the world to a large extent.”

It has already been announced that the Finnish national airline “Finnair” will suspend daily flights to Tartu from Monday to May 31 in order to find a solution to the GPS signal interference.

As the airline company informed on Monday, flights to Tartu are suspended for a month in order to search for methods for planes to land at Tartu airport safely and smoothly without a GPS signal.

“Finnair” is the only airline that provides international flights to Tartu. Flights resumed at the end of March for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline apologized to passengers for the inconvenience, stressing that flight safety is the highest priority. Currently, the landing method used at Tartu Airport is based on the GPS signal.

On Thursday and Friday, two Finnair planes returned to Finland due to GPS signal interference, as it was impossible for them to safely reach Tartu Airport.

GPS interference has increased since 2022, and Finnair pilots have reported interference, especially in the Königsberg (Kings) exclave, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the eastern Mediterranean region.

Generally, GPS interference does not affect flight routes or flight safety, as pilots are well aware of this and airplanes have alternative systems that are used in the event of GPS signal interference.

It has already been announced that the foreign ministers of the Baltic states have warned that Russia is causing GPS signal interference, which is very dangerous and can sooner or later lead to an air disaster.

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 Tartu Airport is a Russian hybrid attack

“GPS jamming is part of Russia’s hostile actions and we will certainly discuss this issue with our allies as well. This 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 indicated that in the Baltic States region, GPS signal interference has affected tens of thousands of civil aircraft flights 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 Russia is causing it 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.

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