site.btaVon der Leyen Plane Lost GPS Signal when Landing in Plovdiv, Government Information Service Confirms

Approaching Plovdiv Airport (South Central Bulgaria) on Sunday, the flight carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen lost the satellite GPS signal to its navigation system, Bulgaria's Government Information Service (BGIS) reported on Monday, reacting to foreign and Bulgarian media coverage of the flight.

The statement added that, in order to ensure the safety of the flight, the Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority immediately proposed an alternative landing method using ground-based navigation aids (instrument landing).

The BGIS noted further that the ground-based navigation aids used by Bulgaria are independent of GPS systems and enable a safe and reliable landing.  

The announcement specified that the flight did not have to be rerouted from landing at Plovdiv Airport as pre-planned and coordinated with the European Commission team. Von der Leyen flew by an aircraft leased by the European Commission.

Earlier on Monday, The Financial Times reported that "a suspected Russian interference attack targeting Ursula von der Leyen disabled GPS navigation services at a Bulgarian airport and forced the European Commission president's plane to land using paper maps."

"A jet carrying von der Leyen to Plovdiv on Sunday afternoon was deprived of electronic navigational aids while on approach to the city's airport, in what three officials briefed on the incident said was being treated as a Russian interference operation.

'The whole airport area GPS went dark,' said one of the officials. After circling the airport for an hour, the plane's pilot took the decision to land the plane manually using analogue maps, they added. 'It was undeniable interference.' The Kremlin and European Commission have been approached for comment.

The Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority confirmed the incident in a statement to The Financial Times.

'Since February 2022, there has been a notable increase in [GPS] jamming and recently spoofing occurrences,' it said. 'These interferences disrupt the accurate reception of [GPS] signals, leading to various operational challenges for aircraft and ground systems.'

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the FT that "your information is incorrect".

So-called GPS jamming and spoofing, which distorts or prevents access to the satellite-based navigation system, was traditionally deployed by military and intelligence services to defend sensitive sites, but has increasingly been used by countries such as Russia as a means of disrupting civilian life.

EU governments have warned that rising GPS jamming blamed on Russia risks causing a major air disaster by essentially blinding commercial aircraft mid-journey. GPS jamming incidents have risen significantly in the Baltic Sea and eastern European states close to Russia in recent years, affecting planes, boats and civilians who use the service for day-to-day navigation," The Financial Times pointed out.