The nearly 123,000 GPS route would have been sabotaged between January and April by signs that interfere with Russia’s action by Sweden’s report and five neighboring countries to which Swedish television network “SVT” had access. In some air spaces, more than 40% of all flights would have been affected by GPS interference. Russia has not officially reacted to the accusations.
Both interference (signs block) and falsification (GNSS signs false signs that deceive systems) were observed. The effects range from fake position reports to system failures that can follow the flight to their destination.
According to the Swedish Transport Agency, a significant increase in alerts on interference in air navigation systems in recent months was recorded, including what detected the plane in which the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recently traveled to Bulgaria.
Along with the countries around the Baltic Sea, the Swedish agency mapped the magnitude of the problem, which reveals that between January and April 122,607 flights from 365 airlines were affected.
The distortions especially impacted Poland’s air spaces, the three Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -, Finland and Sweden.
In the last year, the problem has increased notably. In Sweden alone, more than 733 incidents have been reported that affected civil aviation in the year.
Throughout 2023, there were 55 interference, while in 2024 there were 495. The authorities tracked the origin of the disturbances and, thanks to measurements, it was possible to locate interference broadcasters in Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Smolensk and Rostov.
“We can say, and besides we have evidence that disturbances originate in Russian territory,” Andreas Holmgren, head of the Swedish Transport Agency unit.
“We consider the serious situation, as we observed a constant increase in interference and not a decrease in them,” he said.
“It is worrying that a global system, used by many parts of society, be deliberately disturbed,” he added.
This scenario represents a growing danger to air safety, according to countries affected by the International Civil Aviation Organization (OACI), which required “Russia to comply with its international obligations and ensure that interferences cease immediately.”
