GPS World

Tag: Finnair

  • Finnair cancels flights amid increased GNSS jamming

    Finnair cancels flights amid increased GNSS jamming

    Photo: Finnair
    Photo: Finnair

    Finnair, the sole international airline operating flights to Tartu, Estonia, has suspended its daily service to the city from April 29 to May 31, 2024. The decision comes in response to ongoing GNSS interferences and disruptions, including two instances where flights had to return to Helsinki, Finland, due to excessive jamming in the region.

    The current approach methods at Tartu Airport rely heavily on GNSS signals, which have been disrupted frequently in the area. To address this, Finnair plans to use the one-month flight suspension period to develop and implement alternative navigation methods at Tartu Airport that can operate independently of GNSS. Finnair aims to enhance the safety and reliability of operations, preventing similar incidents in the future.

    This suspension of flights highlights a broader issue of increasing GNSS jamming and spoofing, which has been a growing concern since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 — specifically near Kaliningrad, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.

    On December 31, 2023, parts of Finland experienced significant jamming, which affected aviation and low navigation integrity reports from ADS-B systems. These were displayed on the GPSJam.org website.

    Estonian Foreign Minister, Margus Tsahkna, points to Russia as the source of the interference. Tsahkna told The Baltic News Service that jamming carried out by Russia is so dangerous that sooner or later it will cause a plane crash, ultimately endangering civilians.

  • Finnish airline finds GPS interference near Russian border

    Finnish airline finds GPS interference near Russian border

    Photo: william87/ iStock editorial/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
    Photo: william87/ iStock editorial/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

    Finnair planes flying close to the Russian border near and south of Finland are reporting unusual activity with their GPS receivers in the last few days.

    No cause for the abnormalities has been determined, but the vicinity to the Russian border during the Ukraine war seems to indicate intentional interference. In particular, interference occurs near the Russian province of Kaliningrad situated between Lithuania and Poland, both NATO members.

    An aircraft operated by Lithuanian carrier Transaviabaltika has been unable to fly from Tallinn to Savonlinna for three days.

    Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, has received numerous occurrence reports regarding GPS signal interference observed by aircraft. The interference began during the weekend and is still continuing.

    On Tuesday, several aircraft reported GPS signal interference in the region around Mikkeli, Jyväskylä and Kuopio. An aircraft operated by Lithuanian carrier Transaviabaltika has been unable to fly from Tallinn to Savonlinna for three days.

    Kaliningrad is the capital of the Russian province of the same name, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast. (Map: Google)
    Kaliningrad is the capital of the Russian province of the same name, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast. (Map: Google)

    After receiving reports about GPS interference, Traficom on Monday requested Fintraffic Air Navigation Services Ltd (Fintraffic ANS) to issue a Notice to Airmen for pilots flying in the area.

    “Flying is still safe. Airlines have procedures they follow if the GPS signal is lost,” said Director Jari Pöntinen. “Aircraft can use other systems to navigate and land safely. Air traffic control supports aircraft pilots with the help of other landing systems.” For final approach, traditional approach systems do not require a GPS signal.

    Airlines make their own decisions on whether they can operate in an area where there is known to be interference to the GPS signal.

    Traficom does not know what is causing the interference, but stated it will continue to monitor the situation and gather more information on the matter.