Tens of thousands of flights to and from the UK have been affected by GPS jamming, likely by Russia.
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This is reported by the Sun newspaper, whose journalists, together with researchers from the GPSJAM.org organization, analyzed publicly available flight logs.
According to the study, since August 2023, approximately 46 thousand aircraft have encountered problems with satellite navigation while in the airspace of the Baltic region countries adjacent to Russia.
The GPS satellite system is part of the aircraft’s navigation system and interference may pose a safety hazard. The planes also received false data that caused the crew to veer off course to avoid obstacles that were not there, the study said.
In particular, Ryanair reported obstacles on more than 2,300 of its flights, Wizz Air on almost 1,400, British Airways on 82, and EasyJet on four.
The only major UK carrier not affected by GPS jamming was Virgin Atlantic, which has had its planes grounded due to the region, the study notes.
Journalists and researchers concluded that the number of such incidents increased from fewer than 50 per week last year to more than 350 per week in March 2024.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.