The passenger plane was en route from Poland to Bulgaria. A spokesperson for the European Commission confirmed the incident. According to the Financial Times, just before landing in Plovdiv,"the entire GPS system for the airport area went black."
How much is the Netherlands affected by Russian satellite sabotage? 'In the worst case, food supplies will be disrupted'
The pilot reportedly flew in circles for an hour, and ultimately it was decided to use old-fashioned paper aeronautical charts for the landing.
"It was undeniably external interference," a source told the British business newspaper. The Baltic states and Finland have been blaming Russia for years for deliberately disrupting the digital navigation of civil aviation and ships.
A Commission spokesperson said that new measures are being developed to address the"daily disruptions." Furthermore, the EU has sanctioned Russian companies involved.
This wouldn't be the first time Russia has defied the European Union. Last week, an EU office in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was hit by missiles.
"Two missiles struck within 20 seconds, 50 meters from the delegation," Von der Leyen reacted angrily."It shows that the Kremlin will do everything in its power to terrorize Ukraine, blindly kill civilians—men, women, and children—and even attack the European Union."
The President of the European Commission is touring countries bordering Russia and Belarus. On Monday morning, von der Leyen flew a helicopter to Lithuania to inspect the borders. Hundreds of Dutch troops are deployed in Lithuania to support NATO's deterrent against Russia.
According to Brussels, the plane incident underscores the necessity of Von der Leyen's visit to the EU's external borders.
