The Financial Times quoted a source as saying that Russia was jamming GPS signals to prevent drone attacks on Kaliningrad. Pilots claim they lose their geolocation signal in the air, which means they cannot safely reach their planned destination.
In March 2024, a British Air Force plane carrying British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps and a group of journalists lost its signal while returning from Poland and flew near Kaliningrad.
In April 2024, The Sun newspaper wrote that thousands of British flights had been subjected to GPS suppression. This is believed to have been done by Russia. Interference in Baltic airspace on more than 2,300 of its flights was reported by Ryanair, Wizz Air on nearly 1,400, British Airways on 82 and EasyJet on four.
On April 25 and 26, two Finnair planes traveling from Helsinki to the Estonian city of Tartu were forced to return to their departure airport due to GPS interference.
According to experts, tens of thousands of civilian flights have been affected by GPS jamming in recent months. The jamming, which affects all GPS users in the area, has also interfered with signals used by ships in the Baltic Sea, leading to warnings from the Swedish navy about the safety of shipping.
Baltic politicians are sounding the alarm, saying such actions by Russia could lead to tragic consequences.
"If someone turns off your headlights while you are driving at night, the trip becomes dangerous. The situation in the Baltic region near Russia's borders has now become too dangerous to ignore," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said.
"We perceive what is happening with GPS as part of Russia's hostile actions, and we will definitely discuss it with our allies," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. She said she considered it "hybrid attacks."
Experts say there are several different sources of GPS interference: one appears to be based in Kaliningrad, another is responsible for interference in Estonia and Finland, and yet another source affects the far north of Norway and Finland.
