In the airspace of Latvia, 1,173 cases of interference with the Global Positioning System (GPS) were recorded over ten months of this year, which is 2.6 times more than in the same period last year, the Latvian Air Navigation Agency (Latvijas gaisa satiksme, LGS) reported to the LETA agency.
In October of this year alone, 113 cases of GPS interference were recorded — 2.2 times more than in October of last year, when there were 51 such cases.
Last year, a total of 820 GPS interferences were recorded, in 2023 there were 342 cases, and in 2022 there were 26.
LGS previously noted that there is no separate accounting for specific airlines when collecting this data.
According to the air navigation enterprise, the interferences began simultaneously with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are apparently related to it.
The Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) previously explained to the LETA agency that the CAA reviews and analyzes reports of GPS interferences in the airspace of Latvia. Although they affect the normal processes of civil aviation, GPS interferences themselves do not pose a threat to flight safety — neither in transit nor during departures and arrivals in Latvia.
The CAA emphasizes that several systems are used to ensure flight safety, so GPS failures do not affect overall flight safety. Each case of GPS interference is centrally collected and analyzed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
LGS is a 100% state-owned enterprise, whose main task is to provide air navigation services to users of airspace.
In turn, the task of the CAA is to implement state policy and management in the field of airspace use in Latvia and civil aviation activities, as well as to oversee flight safety, aviation security, and compliance with environmental protection requirements regarding emissions from aircraft.
