Russians are jamming GPS, passenger planes over Europe are at risk
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about GPS disruptions affecting mainly the north-eastern part of Poland. The Russians are behind this. As it turns out, the problem is much broader, and jamming disrupts the flights of passenger planes over Europe.
At the beginning of the year, the GPSJAM website issued an alarm about repeated incidents interference with GPS satellite navigation systems. The source of the interference has been traced to the circuit Kaliningradresulting in significant navigation problems in part of Poland.
But it turns out that the problem is broader and has a more dangerous face. The British daily “The Sun”, citing military experts, reported that the Russians have been fighting for at least eight months disrupt GPS signals on thousands of passenger flights over Europe. This creates a serious threat to air traffic safety. These types of incidents have been reported during flights in the Baltic Sea region, including Polandbut also during tourist and charter flights to Turkey and Cyprus.
According to The Sun's reporting in recent months, during 2,309 Ryanair flights and 1,368 Wizz Air flights noted problems with satellite navigation in the Baltic Sea region. The problems also included 82 British Airways flightsseven Jet2 flights, four EasyJet flights and seven TUI operated flights.
The Sun also consulted with GPSJAM. Service records show that the main areas of disruption are:egion of the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. The number of suspected Russian disruptions has increased from fewer than 50 per week last year, the analysis showed to over 350 per week last month.
The Russians have long used GPS jamming on the border with NATO as a harassment tool. Wherever there is a large Russian garrison, GPS jamming can be observed, and one of them is in Kaliningrad. They simply have these devices turned on because they have a standing order
– Dr. Jack Watling, a military expert from the London think tank Royal United Services Institute, told The Sun.
Fortunately, planes they are not just dependent on GPS, and pilots have other navigation instruments that allow them to continue flying safely. Glenn Bradley from the British Civil Aviation Authority, quoted by the newspaper, argues that GPS jamming does not have to be intentional and does not have a direct impact on the aircraft's navigation. In his opinion, flying remains one of the the safest forms of travel.
