Russia has jammed thousands of British holiday flights in the eight months to March, jamming 82 British Airways flights, four easyJet, 1,368 Wizz Air and 2,309 Ryanair flights.
GPSJAM.org analysed flight logs that has recorded Russia interfering with airlines GPS systems, and according to The Sun flights over the Baltic Sea have been attacked by Russian forces.
In January The EU’s aviation safety body Easa met to discuss with the global airline body lata Russia jamming and spoofing aircraft GPS systems.
Easa acting executive director Luc Tytgat said: “We have seen a sharp rise in attacks on (satellite navigation) systems, which poses a safety risk.
“Easa is tackling the risk specific to these new technologies.
“We immediately need to ensure that pilots and crews can identify the risks and know how to react and land safely.
“In the medium term, we will need to adapt the certification requirements of the navigation and landing systems.
“For the longer term, we need to ensure we are involved in the design of future satellite navigation systems. Countering this risk is a priority for the agency.”
Glenn Bradley, head of flight operations at regulator the Civil Aviation Authority, said: “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.”
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “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.”
