Eastern Finland Airports Reintroduce Radio Navigation Amid GPS Interference

Three airports in Eastern Finland have reintroduced radio navigation equipment to support safe aircraft landings amid suspected satellite navigation interference by Russia, their operators informed Reuters.

Finland suspects that Russia is disrupting Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) signals across eastern Finland and the Baltic Sea region, aiming to protect strategic assets such as oil ports from potential Ukrainian air strikes or drone activity. Russia, however, denies any interference with satellite or communication networks.

Finavia, which operates two Finnish airports near the Russian border in Joensuu and Savonlinna, reinstated ground-based Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) in September. Lappeenranta Airport is also set to install similar equipment soon. The DME technology, once widely used in aviation, provides “an alternative approach method” for aircraft during GPS interference, according to Henri Hansson, Finavia’s head of infrastructure and security.

“We retained some legacy infrastructure, even if it was not actively in use. Now we have been able to update it and reintegrate it,” Hansson noted, though he did not disclose the cost of the upgrades.

The reinstallation followed GPS disruptions that forced two Finnair flights to Joensuu to abort landings in June and August. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) reports that varying levels of GPS interference are detected daily, primarily in southern Finland. Ryanair’s flights to Lappeenranta have continued largely unaffected, although minor disruptions have impacted a few smaller flights.

In a related development, Finnair paused flights to Tartu, Estonia, earlier this year due to GPS issues, resuming them only after the Estonian airport adopted an alternative approach system not reliant on GPS. Estonia has also accused Russia of violating airspace regulations through GPS signal interference.

Related news: https://airguide.info/?s=Finnair, https://airguide.info/category/air-travel-business/safety/

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, reuters.com