46,000 UK flights experience navigation problems as Russia jams GPS – The Sun

Flights to and from the UK have been affected by the jamming of the Global Positioning System (GPS) in the region, believed to be carried out by Russia.

Source: UK tabloid The Sun with reference to sources in the aviation industry, quoted by other media, in particular The Guardian and European Pravda

Details: Based on an analysis of flight logbooks from the GPSJAM.org website, The Sun writes that problems with navigation have been detected on about 46,000 flights since August last year. Of these, 2,300 are Ryanair flights, and almost 1,400 are from Wizz Air.

British Airways and easyJet were also affected by GPS jamming, although not on such a significant scale (82 and 4 cases, respectively).

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) commented to The Sun that signal jamming is often associated with military activities but does not mean that commercial aircraft are its direct target.

"GPS jamming does not directly affect the aircraft's navigation, and although this is a known problem, it does not mean that the aircraft was intentionally jammed," explained Glenn Bradley, head of flight operations at the CAA.

Background:

• Problems with GPS navigation in Europe have been reported since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in particular around Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian enclave that overlooks the Baltic Sea.
• European states believe that these are deliberate actions by Moscow.
• In March, it became known that Russia may have jammed the satelite signal on the plane of UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps when it flew near Kaliningrad.

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