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A Ryanair flight from Poland to Slovakia was forced to divert to Vienna after satellite navigation systems failed over Bratislava, in the latest incident to highlight concerns over GPS interference in Europe.
Flight FR6827 from Gdańsk was due to land at Bratislava’s M. R. Štefánik Airport shortly after 1:00 on 24 August, according to Denník N. Instead, the aircraft diverted to Vienna after both its onboard GPS and the airport’s ground-based navigation system were unavailable. The plane later refuelled and landed safely in Bratislava at 2:44, the airport confirmed.
“It was quite unusual,” said Ján, a passenger travelling with his family. “The crew told us there was a GPS malfunction and also a problem with the local navigation system. It was an unpleasant 15 to 20 minutes of worry.”
Slovak air traffic control services confirmed that GPS disruption had been recorded over Bratislava that night. Because one of the airport’s instrument landing systems was under reconstruction, no alternative approach was available.
Although interference with satellite navigation has become increasingly common in northern and eastern Europe – particularly over Finland, Sweden, the Baltic states and the Black Sea region – diversions remain rare, as aircraft typically rely on backup systems.
GPS interference in Europe on 8 September 2025 (source: GPSJAM)
“Pilots encounter this near conflict zones quite regularly,” said Martin Štulajter, head of Slovak carrier AirExplore. “Planes also use inertial reference systems and ground transmitters. A diversion is unusual.”
The incident follows reports that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s flight from Warsaw to Plovdiv experienced GPS problems last month, though Bulgarian authorities later said no long-term disruption was detected.
EU and NATO officials have accused Russia and Belarus of deliberately jamming GPS signals as part of hybrid warfare. Moscow denies this, claiming its systems are used only to defend against Ukrainian drones.
Slovakia’s communications regulator said it had logged no official complaints of interference on the night of 23–24 August, though independent mapping sites have detected sporadic disruptions in the region.
Ryanair did not respond to a request for comment.
