(Bloomberg) -- Estonia will seek to raise the topic of Russia’s alleged jamming of GPS signals with the European Union and NATO after a series of disruptions affecting flights and maritime traffic. 

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said he has discussed the “very dangerous” issue with his counterparts from Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. Finnair Oyj, Finland’s state-controlled airline, on Monday suspended flights to the city of Tartu in Estonia for a month after two commercial flights were forced to turn back last week because of interference with GPS signal.

“This is a deliberate action that is disrupting our lives, putting people’s lives at risk and can be seen as a hybrid attack,” Tsahkna told Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR late on Monday.

Northern Europe has seen a spike in interference in the global positioning system since 2022, which officials have widely blamed on Russia. While jamming has long been a minor nuisance to aircrafts and ships, the latest incidents involving Finnair aircrafts have raised alarm. 

The small Tartu airport only supports GPS-based landing, and disruption of the signal is common in the area, Finnair said in a statement. 

“The systems on Finnair’s aircraft detect GPS interference, our pilots are well aware of the issue,” said Jari Paajanen, director of operations. 

Russia has a track record of jamming GPS signals and is able to deploy a range of capabilities for the so-called electronic warfare, including disrupting drone and missile activity in Ukraine. The Kremlin has previously stepped up jamming activity in Moscow and St. Petersburg to avert potential drone attacks from Ukraine. 

The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed in the past that its electronic-warfare units in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania, have held training exercises for disrupting radio and satellite signals.

Finnair pilots have detected GPS signal interference near Kaliningrad and other regions, according to the airline. It normally doesn’t affect flight routes or flight safety, as pilots have alternative systems in place that are used instead, Finnair said.

In December, Polish aviation authorities warned pilots about GPS signal disruption, while officials from Sweden and Finland said earlier this month that they’re probing the matter.

Officials are also increasingly concerned about GPS interference affecting navigation systems of ships. The Swedish Maritime Administration issued a warning last week about GPS interference in the southern Baltic Sea, although they have seen no incidents so far.

--With assistance from Aaron Eglitis, Niclas Rolander and Kati Pohjanpalo.

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