Thousands of flights carrying British tourists have reportedly been hit by suspected Russian jamming attacks with fears mounting over use of the “dangerous” tactic.
Jamming attacks cripple satellite navigation leaving aircraft unsure of routes and even struggling to alert others to their position. The attacks led pilots to engage in drastic manoeuvres to avoid obstacles that were not actually there.
There were estimated to be 2,309 Ryanair flights and 1,368 Wizz Air planes that reported satnav issues in the Baltic region, near Russia, in the eight months up to the end of March.
Some 82 British Airways flights, seven Jet2, four EasyJet and seven TUI flights were also affected.
The outlet reported the interference from Vladimir Putin also included jamming and spoofing. Jamming attacks disrupt genuine signals from satellites, including GPS and Europe’s Galileo system.
Last month The Mirror reported on how UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps’ plane was targeted by hackers on his way back from Poland. According to GPSJAM, which monitors jamming instances across the globe there are multiple European destinations that experience high levels of interference.
Areas that reportedly experienced medium to high levels of jamming in the past month include Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Bulgaria, Romania Turkey and Cyprus.
Other areas which experienced jamming are the Middle East, Russia and the Caucasus.
