22 April 2024 , 12:38
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One of the UK's biggest airlines says it's seen a stark rise in 'interference' with its GPS among fears Russia may have been targeting airlines with "extremely dangerous" in-flight cyber attacks.
Ryanair has said the number of incidents of its satnav systems being interfered with have risen noticeably in recent years. It comes as analysis of flight logs with GPSJAM.org, which records incidents of GPS interference, reveals thousands of jets noticing issues - many of which were occurring over the Baltic region.
Commercial flights have apparently been suffering from GPS jamming as well as "spoofing", which is when fake signals are used to trick pilots. Of the 46,000 flights affected in the eight months to the end of March, were 2,309 Ryanair flights, 1,368 Wizz Air flights, 82 British Airways flights and four EasyJet flights. according to the data obtained by The Sun. The Mirror has contacted all airlines for comment.
It comes after the European Aviation Safety Agency warned earlier this year of a "sharp rise" in in-flight jamming and spoofing incidents. While jamming merely blocks GPS signals, spoofing attacks are extremely dangerous as they can trick pilots into thinking the plane is in a different location to where it actually is, the agency said.
Aviation experts believe the attacks are linked and that Russian hackers may be behind them. They told the paper that a "significant percentage" of aircraft reporting issues with navigation appeared to "correlate well with areas of known and suspected jamming", and that information from the Russians was "spurious". If true, the attacks would coincide with a report of one RAF plane experiencing jamming as it flew over Polish airspace while Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was aboard. The Minister slammed the attack, the culprits for which haven't been established, as "wildly irresponsible".
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Aviation experts believe the attacks are linked and that Russian hackers may be behind them (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Following the event, Easa acting executive director Luc Tytgat confirmed: “We have seen a sharp rise in attacks on (satellite navigation) systems, which poses a safety risk." He added: “We immediately need to ensure that pilots and crews can identify the risks and know how to react and land safely."
A Ryanair spokesperson told the Mirror: “In recent years there has been a rise in intermittent GPS interference which has affected all airlines. Ryanair aircraft have multiple systems to identify aircraft location, including GPS. If any of the location systems, such as GPS, are not functioning then the crew, as part of standard operating procedures, switch to one of the alternate systems.”
Researchers further claim there were more than 350 suspected Russian satnav attacks a week during March - a huge hike from the 50 per week reported last year. TUI, which does not fly over the Baltic, also reported issues on seven planes, although the airline said these were "probably positioning flights without passengers".
EasyJet meanwhile said there were “multiple navigation systems onboard commercial aircraft as well as procedures in place which mitigate against issues with GPS that can occur for various reasons”. The only UK airline not to report any attacks has been Virgin Atlantic, which also doesn't fly over the region.
War expert Dr Jack Watling, based at London-based RUSI think tank, told how Russia has "long used GPS jamming" as a "harassment tool" against NATO members. "Wherever there is a large Russian garrison you are seeing GPS denial and there is one in Kaliningrad," he said. "They just have that stuff switched on because there are standing orders."
Russia has previously been accused of jamming GPS signals over an RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said GPS jamming was "still relatively rare" and wouldn't jeopardise flights, as aircraft rely on multiple systems for navigation. Glenn Bradley, Head of Flight Operations and the UK Civil Aviation Authority, told The Mirror: “Aviation is one of the safest forms of air travel and there are several safety protocols in place to protect navigation systems on commercial aircraft.
"GPS jamming does not directly impact the navigation of an aircraft and while it is a known issue, this does not mean an aircraft has been jammed deliberately. While operators have mitigations in place to assure continued safe operations, we work closely with other aviation regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers to curb and mitigate any risks posed by jamming and continuously monitor incidents worldwide.”