By Andrius Sytas
VILNIUS (Reuters) – A Ryanair plane about to land at Vilnius airport was diverted to Warsaw in Poland on Thursday because of GPS interference, Lithuania’s air navigation authority said on Friday.
Estonia and Finland last year blamed Russia for jamming GPS navigation devices in the region’s airspace. Russia has denied interfering with communication and satellite networks.
Most modern airliners have a variety of sensors and sources to determine their positioning, in addition to GPS, meaning 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, lowering to an altitude of 850 feet (259 metres) before lifting off again and flying to land in Warsaw, 400 km (249 miles) away, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
Ryanair did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
“The plane experienced GPS signal interference”, a spokesperson for Lithuania’s air navigation authority said on Friday, adding the decision to divert the flight was taken by the pilot.
“All other planes were landing at the airport as usual,” the spokesperson said.
Lithuania is investigating the incident, Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene told reporters.
Finnair paused several flights to Estonia last year after GPS disturbances in the area and several airports in eastern Finland reintroduced radio navigation equipment.
Pilots landing in Vilnius airport have reported over 800 instances of GPS interferrence over the last three months of last year, compared to 124 over the same time in 2023, Lithuanian air navigation said.
(Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
