EU chief von der Leyen’s aircraft struck by a suspected Russian GPS intervention

The navigation system of an airplane bearing Ursula von der Leyen has been interrupted due to suspect Russian intervention, the European Commission said.

A spokesman said “GPS congestion” happened while the chairman of the committee was about to arrive in Bulgaria on Sunday, but it still landed safely.

They added: “We have received information from the Bulgarian authorities that they suspect that this is due to rough intervention from Russia.”

The Financial Times, citing unnamed employees, announced that von der Leyen should land at Plendian Airport using paper cards.

The Bulgarian government has confirmed that during the flight, “the satellite signal transmitting information on the GPS aircraft navigation system”.

The statement continued: “To ensure flight safety, air control services immediately offer an alternative landing method using ground navigation tools.”

Bulgaria’s Air Traffic Services Authority of Bulgaria said to the newspaper that there was a “remarkable increase” of the navigation silence of January 2022.

The Kremlin told FT that his information was “incorrect”.