Global Positioning System (GPS) disruptions in Latvian airspace have been recorded 969 times during the first eight months of this year – 2.6 times more than in the same period last year, representatives of the state-owned company Latvijas gaisa satiksme (LGS, Latvian Air Navigation Services) reported.
In August alone, 195 GPS disruptions were registered – 19.5 times more than in August last year, when just 10 incidents were recorded.
In total, 820 GPS disruptions were logged in 2024, 342 in 2023, and only 26 in 2022.
LGS previously noted that these statistics do not provide a breakdown by specific airlines. The air navigation company explained that the disruptions began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and are apparently linked to it.
The Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) earlier told the LETA news agency that it reviews and analyzes reports of GPS signal disruptions in Latvian airspace. While such disruptions affect normal civil aviation processes,
they do not pose a threat to flight safety for aircraft in transit or flying to and from Latvia.
The CAA stresses that several systems are used to ensure flight safety, meaning GPS disruptions do not compromise it. Each incident of GPS interference is centrally collected and analyzed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
LGS is a 100% state-owned company tasked with providing airspace users with air navigation services.
Meanwhile, the CAA’s mission is to implement state policy and oversight in the use of Latvian airspace and civil aviation operations, ensuring flight safety, civil aviation security, and monitoring aircraft emissions compliance with environmental protection requirements.
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