One airline has not been able to land in Savonlinna at all this week because it has lost its gps signal. The disturbances were detected on the Mikkeli – Jyväskylä – Kuopio axis on Tuesday.
Finland in the last few days, GPS positioning has been detected at the eastern border, which has already affected air traffic.
Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom informed on Tuesday that many aircraft reported gps signal interference on the Mikkeli – Jyväskylä – Kuopio axis on Tuesday.
In addition, the Lithuanian Transavibaltika plane has not been able to fly from Tallinn to Savonlinna for three days.
Traficom warned airlines on Monday with a so-called NOTAM message. It is an instant message commonly used in aviation for all operators flying in the area and comes from the words Notice to airmen.
It was briefly stated that there are interference in the GPS signal in the eastern parts of Finland’s flight area, ie practically on the entire eastern border of Finland. That raises the question of whether Russia is behind the GPS interference.
Director of Aviation at Traficom Jari Pöntinen says he does not know what it is about.
“But there have been interference in the signal,” says Pöntinen.
“I don’t think there have been any such cases until recently.”
According to Traficom, it is difficult to detect disturbances from the surface of the earth. Interference is more easily detected from the aircraft, and in the air the interference can be seen far away from the source of the interference. According to Traficom, GPS interference can be momentary and local, making it difficult to verify afterwards.
According to Traficom, flying is still safe. If the gps signal is lost, the aircraft can be guided to land using other systems.
Situation has already led to the fact that the plane of the Lithuanian airline Transaviabaltica has not been able to fly a flight from Tallinn to Savonlinna for three days, because according to HS data, the plane has always had to return from Tallinn around Kouvola.
The company’s planes normally fly several times a day between Savonlinna and Helsinki.
“The operator has not been able to get down because it has lost its gps signal, which means that it has also lost its navigability,” says Pöntinen.
There is no answer to why the gps signal is lost.
“I can’t judge in any way. When there is no information, I do not start speculating, ”says Pöntinen.
Traficomin The NOTAM message specifies that the warning applies to altitudes up to 20,000 feet, so it does not apply, for example, to passenger aircraft flying over the area that fly higher. Similarly, Ryanair’s flight from Germany to Lappeenranta, for example, seemed to be operating normally on Tuesday.
The reason that Transaviabaltica’s machine had to return may be due to the technology of its machine is a slightly older model and thus more prone to interference.
“These happen globally from time to time and are reported by the operators. As an aviation authority, we do not have the opportunity to catch the root causes of the disruption. ”
GPS interference rose strongly in Finland at the end of 2018, when the large military exercise Trident Juncture of the military alliance NATO was taking place in Norway, in which Finland also participated.
The perpetrator was suspected in the West by Russia, which denied the matter. Finland, among other things invited the Russian ambassador at the time of the interview.
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