Latest News

Ryanair flight diverted from Vilnius due to GPS interference, Lithuania says

A Ryanair aircraft about to land at Vilnius airport was diverted to Warsaw in Poland on Thursday since of GPS disturbance, Lithuania's air navigation authority said on Friday.

Estonia and Finland in 2015 blamed Russia for jamming GPS navigation devices in the region's airspace. Russia has rejected interfering with interaction and satellite networks.

The majority of modern airliners have a variety of sensors and sources to determine their positioning, in addition to GPS, implying they can fly if there is interference.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8-200, from London's Luton airport, was approaching Vilnius airport runway for landing, decreasing to an elevation of 850 feet (259 metres) before taking off once again and flying to land in Warsaw, 400 km (249 miles) away, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24.

Ryanair did not right away react to a Reuters request for remark.

The aircraft experienced GPS signal disturbance, a. spokesperson for Lithuania's air navigation authority said on. Friday, adding the choice to divert the flight was taken by. the pilot.

All other aircrafts were landing at the airport as normal, the. representative stated.

Lithuania is examining the event, Defence Minister. Dovile Sakaliene told reporters.

Finnair paused several flights to Estonia in 2015 after. GPS disturbances in the location and several airports in eastern. Finland reintroduced radio navigation devices.

Pilots landing in Vilnius airport have reported over 800. instances of GPS interferrence over the last 3 months of. in 2015, compared to 124 over the exact same time in 2023,. Lithuanian air navigation stated.

(source: Reuters)