Estonia on Wednesday summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires over alleged GPS interference around its airspace, claiming that recent disruptions to civilian air traffic were “hybrid activity” orchestrated by Moscow.
Estonia and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Lithuania warned last month that widespread Russian GPS jamming was increasing the threat of an aviation accident occurring in their skies.
“Today we summoned [the] Russian charge d’affaires over GPS jamming which is a violation of regulations… and has caused serious damage to air traffic,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Russia’s hybrid activities that disrupt our normal lives in Estonia and Europe must end,” he added.
Last month, the Finnish airline Finnair said it was suspending flights to the Estonian city of Tartu until May 31 due to GPS interference — which it said had forced two of its flights to return to Helsinki.
Finnair said at the time that in the interim “an alternative approach solution that doesn’t require a GPS signal can be put in place at Tartu Airport.”
It added that GPS interference can “prevent the aircraft from approaching and landing,” but also noted that interference “is quite common in the area.”
Finnair is the only airline operating international flights to the airport in Tartu.
