Ursula von der Leyen's flight forced down in Bulgaria amid Russian GPS interference
Photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (Getty Images)
The plane of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made an emergency landing in Bulgaria. The pilots were left without navigation due to suspected interference from Russian systems that jam GPS, reports the Financial Times.
Yesterday, August 31, in the afternoon, the plane of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made an emergency landing at the airport in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. It is suspected that Russian interference disabled GPS navigation services.
“The whole airport area GPS went dark,” said one of the officials. After circling above the airport for an hour, the pilot decided to land manually, using paper maps.
Von der Leyen was flying from Warsaw to the city of Plovdiv to meet Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and inspect a munitions factory. She was on a tour of the “EU's frontline states,” discussing measures to strengthen the bloc’s defense readiness in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Since February 2022, there has been a notable increase in [GPS] jamming and recently spoofing occurrences. These interferences disrupt the accurate reception of [GPS] signals, leading to various operational challenges for aircraft and ground systems,” the Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority said in a statement.
GPS jamming and spoofing, which distort or block access to the satellite navigation system, have traditionally been used by the military and intelligence services to protect sensitive facilities. But they are increasingly used by countries such as Russia to destabilize civilian life.
EU governments warn that the rise in GPS jamming, for which Russia is blamed, could cause a large-scale aviation disaster, effectively “blinding” commercial aircraft during flight.
In recent years, GPS jamming incidents have significantly increased in the Baltic states and Eastern Europe near Russia, affecting aircraft, ships, and civilians who rely on the service for daily navigation.
European Commission commented on the incident
According to The Guardian, European Commission spokeswoman Arianna Podestà confirmed that Ursula von der Leyen’s plane experienced GPS jamming.
She emphasized that this incident underscores the urgency of the mission the president is carrying out in the "frontline EU member states.”
Earlier, Ursula von der Leyen called Putin a predator who is already attacking Europe.
“Putin is a predator. Putin’s proxies have been targeting our societies for years with hybrid attacks, with cyber-attacks,” von der Leyen said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a meeting at the Polish-Belarusian border, where they discussed the protection of the EU’s Eastern border.
