A plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, was subject to a GPS interference attack on Sunday 31st August.
GPS navigation services on the plane were unexpectedly disabled as the aircraft approached Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria, forcing the pilots to land using paper maps rather than electronic navigational aids. Officials confirmed that they were treating the incident as intentional Russian interference.
A spokesperson for the commission noted that thirteen member states had raised the issue of Russian interference in Eastern European airspace earlier this year. They added:
Generally we have been seeing quite a lot of such jamming and spoofing activities, especially on the eastern flank. Europe is the most affected region globally on this.
Aircraft have become increasingly dependent on satellite data to inform positioning and navigation. GPS interference represents a significant risk to the safety of air travel, as well as global financial, electrical, and communication systems. The Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority told the Financial Times:
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.
Von der Leyen was in Plovdiv to meet the Bulgarian prime minister, Rosen Zhelyazkov. Together, they discussed the European bloc’s defence readiness as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues.
Against this backdrop of uncertainty, alternative navigation methods remain essential for aircraft. Researchers around the world continue to explore potential replacements for GPS, including quantum navigation and the British ‘atomic clocks’ project.
Join us at Aerospace Tech Week 2026, where we’ll be discussing building zero-trust architecture to improve aircraft cybersecurity and prevent GPS interference.
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