Russia is suspected of launching “extremely dangerous” electronic attacks on thousands of British holiday flights, aviation sources have said.
The planes appear to be suffering from GPS jamming and spoofing, which uses false signals to trick pilots into believing the plane is in a different location than where they actually are.
The European Aviation Safety Agency warned in January that authorities had seen a “sharp increase” in jamming and spoofing “attacks,” but did not say who was behind them.
But industry experts now allege that Putin’s forces are behind the attacks, and one insider says so. Sun that the “information from the Russians is spurious.”
The suggestion echoes that of an aide who reportedly blamed Russia for the “wildly irresponsible” attack that jammed an RAF plane as it flew over Poland while Defense Secretary Grant Shapps was on board.
Russia is suspected of launching “extremely dangerous” electronic attacks on thousands of British holiday flights, aviation sources have said.
The aircraft logs revealed jamming hotspots in the Baltic region, the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, the newspaper reported.
The number of suspected attacks on Russian satellite navigators was more than 350 per week last month, researchers say, a significant increase from fewer than 50 attacks per week last year.
Between August and March, 46,000 flights reported satellite navigation problems in the Baltic region.
These included 2,309 Ryanair flights, 1,368 Wizz Air flights, 82 British Airways flights and four EasyJet flights.
Seven aircraft operated by TUI, which reportedly does not fly in the Baltics, reported problems with satellite navigation. The airline said its affected planes were “likely positioning flights without passengers.”
Virgin Atlantic, which also does not fly through the region, was the only major UK airline not affected by the electronic attacks.
In the eight months to March, 46,000 planes reportedly recorded satellite navigation problems in the Baltic region, including 2,309 Ryanair flights, investigators say (file photo)
In a statement to the Sun, EasyJet said it has procedures in place to “mitigate GPS issues”.
Likewise, Ryanair told the newspaper: “If any tracking system, such as GPS, is not working, the crew switches to alternative systems.”
The experts note that a “significant percentage” of aircraft reporting “low navigation accuracy” appeared to “correlate well with areas of known and suspected interference.”
Dr Jack Watling, a war expert at the RUSI think tank, told The Sun that Russia has “long used GPS jamming as a tool of harassment” and that the country is “projecting it beyond the borders of NATO.”
“Wherever there is a large Russian garrison you see GPS denial and there is one in Kaliningrad,” he said. “They just have those things on because there are standing orders.”
Defense officials have previously accused Moscow of jamming GPS signals over the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus.
Industry experts now allege that Putin’s forces are behind the jamming and phishing attacks. 1,368 Wizz Air flights are believed to have been affected by satellite navigation problems between August and March (file photo)
Despite alleged Russian attacks on satellite navigators, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) continues to insist that flying is safe, noting that there are several “protocols in place to protect navigation systems on commercial aircraft”.
A spokesman told the newspaper: ‘GPS jamming does not directly affect an aircraft’s navigation, and while it is a known problem, this does not mean that an aircraft has been deliberately jammed.
“While operators have mitigation measures in place to ensure continued safe operations, we work closely with other aviation regulators, airlines and aircraft manufacturers to curb and mitigate any risks posed by interference and continually monitor incidents across the world”.
MailOnline has contacted CAA, WizzAir, Ryanair, EasyJet, TUI, Virgin Atlantic and BA for comment.