With NATO and the EU

Estonia wants to discuss mysterious GPS disruptions

Artistic illustration of a GPS satellite

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Together with the other Baltic and Northern European countries, Estonia wants to address the disruption of GPS satellite navigation in the Baltic Sea region by Russia. "We will discuss the problem with NATO allies and EU partners," wrote Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on X on Monday evening following talks with his counterparts from Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden.

Estonia accuses neighboring Russia of being responsible for the GPS signal interference over the Baltic EU and NATO country, which has been occurring for some time. Tshanka told Estonian radio that this was a "completely deliberate act" by which Russia was damaging the safety of air traffic and violating international regulations. Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur expressed a similar opinion.

The GPS signal is used by airplanes to determine their own position and for navigation. At the end of last week, two Finnair planes had to be diverted after GPS interference prevented them from landing in Tartu, Estonia's second largest city. It is one of the few airports in the region where a GPS connection is required. The Finnish airline therefore announced that it was suspending its flights from Helsinki to Tartu for the time being.

Following the incidents, the Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical Regulation Authority (TTJA) sent its experts to Tartu to investigate the GPS interference. A TTJA spokesperson told Estonian Radio on Tuesday that no signal interference had been detected on the ground and that it began at an altitude of around one and a half kilometers in the airspace. This was a "side effect". According to the TTJA, Russia is trying to protect itself from Ukrainian drone attacks by deliberately jamming the GPS signal.