Sharp Rise in GPS Interference Incidents Over Latvian Airspace

Last year, disruptions to the Global Positioning System (GPS) in Latvian airspace were recorded 1,276 times, representing an increase of 55.6% compared with 2024, according to the state-owned company Latvijas gaisa satiksme (LGS). In December alone, 48 GPS interference incidents were recorded, which is 6.1 times fewer than in December of the previous year, when 292 incidents were registered. In total, 820 GPS interference incidents were recorded in 2024, compared with 342 cases in 2023 and just 26 cases in 2022. LGS has previously noted that, when compiling these data, information on specific airlines is not separated out. The air navigation service provider explained that the disruptions began at the same time as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and are most likely related to it. The Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) has previously told the LETA news agency that it reviews and analyses reports on GPS signal interference in Latvian airspace. Although such disruptions affect normal civil aviation operations, GPS signal interference does not pose a threat to flight safety for aircraft transiting Latvian airspace or flying to and from Latvia. The CAA stresses that multiple systems are used to ensure flight safety, meaning that GPS interference does not compromise aviation safety. Each case of detected GPS interference is centrally collected and analysed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. LGS is a 100% state-owned company responsible for providing airspace users with air navigation services. The CAA’s mission, meanwhile, is to implement state policy and administration in the field of Latvian airspace use and civil aviation, including oversight of flight safety and civil aviation security, as well as monitoring compliance of aircraft-generated pollution with environmental protection requirements. Read also: Cartels seen by all, but no longer provable? Supreme court ruling shakes established practice