The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly has recognized that the source of harmful Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference affecting air operations in the Baltic, Eastern, and Northern European regions originates from Russia. ICAO will inform member states of its condemnation of Russia and of Russia’s violation of the Chicago Convention.
After reviewing evidence submitted by six EU member states—Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden—the ICAO Assembly concluded that Russia has violated the Chicago Convention and endangered the safe operation of civil aviation.
“Such Russian activities run counter to ICAO’s fundamental principles and the spirit of the Chicago Convention, creating a direct threat to international air traffic,” said Māris Gorodcovs, Director of the state agency “Civil Aviation Agency.”
In 2024, Latvia began work in the European Commission–led GNSS Project working group, in which competent authorities provided GNSS interference monitoring data and observations carried out in accordance with protocols set by the International Telecommunication Union.
Within the GNSS Project, together with Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden, the impact of the interference and the locations of its sources were analyzed with the aim of preparing a report for the European Commission together with the project’s participating states. The analysis proved that the sources of GNSS interference are located in Russia. Given the impact on flight safety, Latvia continues to carry out continuous monitoring of GNSS signal interference.
The report prepared under the GNSS Project was presented by Latvia to the ICAO Council in a closed session on June 13 of this year, and by Finland in an open session. After examining the evidence, the ICAO Council formally called on Russia to cease GNSS radio-frequency interference within 30 days and requested that Russia inform ICAO of the measures taken. Russia did not respond to ICAO, and ongoing monitoring continued to yield evidence of GNSS interference; therefore, the ICAO Council decided to forward to the ICAO Assembly a resolution concerning Russia’s violations of the Chicago Convention by causing radio-frequency interference.
To maintain a high level of civil aviation safety with respect to GNSS interference, the ICAO Assembly recognized the importance of enhancing the resilience of these technical systems in the radio-frequency environment, calling on air-navigation equipment manufacturers to expedite production of suitably resilient equipment, to develop standardized radio phraseology for communications about GNSS interference, and to encourage ICAO member states to assess and establish a minimum operational air-navigation network that is not dependent on satellite navigation.
The ICAO Assembly is held every three years and this year was attended by 193 member states and numerous international organizations.
Additional information:
Aivis Vincevs
State Agency “Civil Aviation Agency”
Operational Situations Manager
Tel.: 60001672
E-mail: aivis.vincevs@caa.gov.lv