The plane from Gdańsk had to change the route in an emergency. More and more such incidents
It was supposed to be a routine flight from Gdańsk to Bratislava. Instead, passengers found themselves in Vienna. The reason for changing the route turned out to be disturbing navigation systems. This problem increases in Europe, and the services have a certain thesis, who can be responsible for it.
The Ryanair plane, flying from Gdańsk to Bratislava, did not reach his destination directly. On the night of August 23-24, the machine unexpectedly changed the course and landed at the airport in Vienna – the Slovak media informed. The reason was the disruption of the GPS signal, which paralyzed navigation systems. The case has only now seen the light of day.
As one of the passengers reported, Mr. Jan, “after landing, the crew informed us about the disruption of the GPS signal on board the aircraft, as well as about the failure of the ground navigation system at the airport in Bratislava. This is quite unusual” – informs Interia.
The Slovak Air Traffic Service confirmed that there were actually disruptions. Finally, after refueling in Vienna, the plane reached Bratislava at 2:44.
The accusations fall on Russia
The incident happened shortly before the machine with the chairwoman of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on board had to land in Bulgaria in an emergency – also then there were problems with a GPS signal.
Slovak media point out that even a quarter of flights in Northern Europe experience similar problems. It is indicated that Russia is responsible for this.
According to data from the Swedish transport agency, only this year pilots reported over 700 cases of disturbing navigation systems on the Baltic Sea. – The matter is serious. It poses a threat to civil aviation, especially considering the scale, duration and nature of interference – warned Andreas Holmgren from the agency.
NATO and ICAO react to the threat
Specialists remind you that pilots have the opportunity to use alternative positioning systems, but the problem does not apply only to aviation. Disturbances also hit navigation and sensors in critical infrastructure.
In July, the ICAO Council (organization of international civil aviation), after analyzing the evidence presented, among others Through Poland, Finland, Sweden and the Baltic States, she officially called on Russia to cease actions destabilizing the GPS signal.
NATO secretary Mark Rutte emphasized during a visit to Luxembourg that the alliance treats these threats extremely seriously. – We work day and night to prevent such activities and make sure that they will not happen again – he assured.
