The deputy head of Rosaviatsiya Dmitry Yadrov sent a letter to Igor Moiseenko, the general director of the State Air Traffic Management Corporation, and the heads of the interregional territorial departments of the agency with a recommendation to Russian airlines to refuse to use the GPS system during flights. This is due to the possible jamming of its signals, as well as its possible disconnection and spoofing attacks when flying over the Black Sea, the Kaliningrad Region, the Eastern Mediterranean and near Finland.
“Pilots are advised to monitor the position of aircraft using traditional navigational aids when flying in close proximity to a number of areas, to check the availability of radio equipment critical to flight on a given route and landing approach,” the letter reads.
These recommendations relate to data from the European aviation regulator about frequent cases of GPS signals being jammed and tampered with after Feb. 24. The “EU Agency for Flight Safety” bulletin refers to malfunctions that have been recorded at various stages of flights near the Baltic Sea Basin countries, the Kaliningrad region, the Black Sea, eastern Finland, the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, Israel, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon and the northern part of Iraq.
According to a source at Rosaviatsia, the request is advisory in nature and no response is required from carriers. He stressed that nothing will change for passengers when flying without using GPS, as the system is not the main means of navigation.