High above the picturesque landscape of northeastern Norway, pilots are facing an escalating menace: GPS jamming. The once-reliable navigation systems that guide them safely across the skies now suffer regular disruptions in Finnmark, transforming the region into a hazard zone.

Accepting the Unavoidable

The Norwegian communications authority, NKOM, has conceded that GPS jamming in Finnmark is such a persistent problem that they have ceased to track individual incidents. Nicolai Gerrard, a senior engineer at the authority, called it an "unwanted normal situation"—one severe enough that airport authorities are no longer interested in routine updates about it.

Daily Challenges for Pilots

For pilots, especially those flying with Norwegian airline Widerøe, such interruptions are becoming part of daily operations. Captain Odd Thomassen reports that these disturbances frequently last between six and eight minutes. As alerts light up cockpit screens, the deactivation of crucial systems that could prevent terrain collisions forces pilots into an almost retro mode of operation, relying on communication with ground stations. As Thomassen describes it, "You're basically [going] 30 years back in time."

The Wider European Landscape

This issue is not confined to Norway alone. Ever since Russia’s intensified military actions against Ukraine in 2022, there has been a marked rise in GPS interferences throughout Europe's eastern frontier. Countries like Estonia have experienced significant disruptions. For instance, a Finnair flight recently had to abort its landing in Tartu due to faulty GPS signals.

A Reluctant Dependency

The aviation industry's reliance on GPS has grown over the past decade, particularly among smaller airports opting for these systems over more costly ground-based technology, notes Andy Spencer, a seasoned pilot and flight operations expert with OpsGroup.

This troubling trend underscores the vulnerability of current navigation systems amidst geopolitical tensions and raises concerns over the safe operation of aircraft in affected regions.

This was originally reported by Wired.