Two passenger jets forced to turn around due to Russian GPS jamming

Two passenger jets have been forced to turn around midair after suspected Russian GPS jamming.

Two Finnair flights from Helsinki to the Estonian city of Tartu were forced to return to Finland on Thursday and Friday last week as they were unable to navigate to their destinations.

Baltic ministers have said the GPS jamming could cause an air disaster following the interference.

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have all warned of the dangers of the issue as the number of similar incidents has increased in recent weeks near the Baltic Sea, the Financial Times reports.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania’s foreign minister, told the newspaper: “If someone turns off your headlights while you’re driving at night, it gets dangerous. 

“Things in the Baltic region near Russian borders are now getting too dangerous to ignore.” 

Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s foreign minister, added: “We consider what is happening with GPS as part of Russia’s hostile activities, and we will definitely discuss it with our allies.

“Such actions are a hybrid attack and are a threat to our people and security, and we will not tolerate them.”

Experts have warned thousands of civilian flights have been impacted by the GPS jamming in recent months.

The Swedish navy has also raised concerns about the impact on shipping safely as the jamming has also impacted signals used by boats in the Baltic Sea.

Officials in the region believe the Kremlin is behind the interference, with one senior official predicting that Russia was trying to protect Kaliningrad from potential attacks by Ukrainian drones.

The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment.

The UK confirmed in March that an RAF plane carrying defence secretary Grant Shapps had its GPS signal jammed while he was flying home from Poland.

The GPS signal on his aircraft was interfered with for about 30 minutes while the plane flew close to Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, a Government source told Reuters.

Mobile phones could no longer connect to the internet and the aircraft was forced to use alternative methods to determine its location, they said.

Baiba Braže, Latvia’s foreign minister, said: “We take these incidents seriously. Our relevant institutions are in touch with colleagues in other countries.”

Marko Mihkelson, head of the foreign affairs committee of Estonia’s parliament, said: “Allies should not look indifferently at Russia’s jamming of the GPS signal and thereby endangering international air traffic.”