Security News > 2022 > March > Europe warns of aircraft GPS outages tied to Russian invasion
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EU's air transport safety and environmental protection regulator, warned today of intermittent outages affecting Global Navigation Satellite Systems linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
These GNSS outages can lead to navigation and surveillance degradation due to jamming and/or possible spoofing issues that have intensified around Ukraine.
"Under the present conditions, it is not possible to predict GNSS outages and their effects. The magnitude of the issues generated by such outage would depend upon the extent of the area concerned, on the duration and on the phase of flight of the affected aircraft."
EASA issues a Safety Information Bulletin to warn of intermittent GNSS outages near Ukraine conflict areas.
The European agency's warning follows a public announcement issued by Finland's Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, notifying of a spike of GPS interference issues around the country's eastern border with Russia.
"Flying is still safe. Airlines have procedures they follow if the GPS signal is lost," said Traficom's Director, Jari Pöntinen, after the alert was issued.