GPS interference prevented a Finnair flight from landing in Joensuu on June 11, 2024, causing the flight to return to Helsinki and the return flight to be canceled. Finnish MP Hanna Räsänen suspects Russian hybrid interference.

Cyber & Information WarfareCyber AttacksAttacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)

Aggressor

Summary

On June 11, 2024, a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Joensuu could not land due to GPS interference affecting satellite-based navigation, forcing the plane to return to Helsinki after a fifteen-minute wait. This disruption caused the cancellation of the morning return flight from Joensuu to Helsinki. Operational director Tapio Nurmela of Fintraffic confirmed the GPS interference. Passenger and Finnish MP Hanna Räsänen was among those affected and suspects Russian hybrid interference as the cause, noting the impact on her parliamentary committee attendance. Finnair arranged replacement buses for stranded passengers, but some opted for train travel for a faster arrival. The evening flight to Joensuu landed normally around 18:30 local time. This incident highlights ongoing vulnerability of Finnish regional aviation to GPS jamming, with prior disruptions reported at this airport.

Classification

Confidence: High

The incident involves deliberate GPS signal jamming that directly impacts critical transportation infrastructure (aviation navigation), with credible suspicions of Russian hybrid warfare involvement, supported by official statements and a parliamentarian passenger attributing the cause to Russian hybrid interference.

Source URL

https://yle.fi/a/74-20093278

Open source

Provenance

Publisher: csv-import
Submitted: Feb 13, 2026, 19:25 UTC
Last updated: Nov 8, 2026, 20:50 UTC
Event time: Jun 11, 2024, 04:40 UTC

Published as a hybrid-warfare signal with a public source and reviewer-approved assessment bands. See the methodology for how records are assessed.

Raw record

{
  "id": "7b77228a-5ce0-46c3-af07-0cc508a359d6",
  "url": "https://yle.fi/a/74-20093278",
  "source": "csv-import",
  "status": "approved",
  "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare",
  "subcategory": "Cyber Attacks",
  "incident_type": "Attacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)",
  "country": "Finland",
  "source_reliability": "C",
  "info_credibility": "3",
  "tags": [
    "GPS Jamming",
    "Finland",
    "Hybrid Warfare",
    "russian influence operations",
    "Aviation Safety",
    "Joensuu Airport",
    "Finnair",
    "Cyber Attack"
  ],
  "nodes": [
    "Node 1: Borders"
  ],
  "countries": [
    "Finland"
  ],
  "where_text": "Airspace",
  "headline": null,
  "description": "On the morning of June 11, 2024, a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Joensuu was unable to land at Joensuu Airport due to GPS signal interference, forcing the plane to return to Helsinki. Consequently, a return flight from Joensuu to Helsinki was also canceled. The interference disrupted the satellite-based navigation system critical for the aircraft's approach. The flight waited about fifteen minutes in the air for GPS functionality to return before deciding to abort the landing. Fintraffic's operational director Tapio Nurmela confirmed GPS jamming as the cause. Passenger and Finnish parliament member Hanna Räsänen, who was on the canceled Joensuu-Helsinki flight, suspects that the disruption is linked to Russian hybrid influence operations. Finnair arranged bus transport for stranded passengers, but some, including Räsänen, chose train travel. Räsänen missed scheduled parliamentary defense and administrative committee meetings due to the incident and has called for increased parliamentary attention and measures against such GPS interference.",
  "summary_short": "GPS interference prevented a Finnair flight from landing in Joensuu on June 11, 2024, causing the flight to return to Helsinki and the return flight to be canceled. Finnish MP Hanna Räsänen suspects Russian hybrid interference.",
  "summary_extended": "On June 11, 2024, a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Joensuu could not land due to GPS interference affecting satellite-based navigation, forcing the plane to return to Helsinki after a fifteen-minute wait. This disruption caused the cancellation of the morning return flight from Joensuu to Helsinki. Operational director Tapio Nurmela of Fintraffic confirmed the GPS interference. Passenger and Finnish MP Hanna Räsänen was among those affected and suspects Russian hybrid interference as the cause, noting the impact on her parliamentary committee attendance. Finnair arranged replacement buses for stranded passengers, but some opted for train travel for a faster arrival. The evening flight to Joensuu landed normally around 18:30 local time. This incident highlights ongoing vulnerability of Finnish regional aviation to GPS jamming, with prior disruptions reported at this airport.",
  "actor_primary": "Russian hybrid influence operations",
  "target_primary": null,
  "location_text": "Joensuu Airport",
  "location_region": "North Karelia",
  "location_coordinates_lat": 62.6622,
  "location_coordinates_lon": 29.6076,
  "location_precision": "Exact",
  "is_aggressor_signal": true,
  "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL",
  "is_hybrid_war_signal": true,
  "classification_complete": true,
  "hybrid_signal_complete": true,
  "classification_confidence": "High",
  "classification_rationale": "The incident involves deliberate GPS signal jamming that directly impacts critical transportation infrastructure (aviation navigation), with credible suspicions of Russian hybrid warfare involvement, supported by official statements and a parliamentarian passenger attributing the cause to Russian hybrid interference.",
  "event_time_utc": "2024-06-11T04:40:00.000Z",
  "end_time_utc": "2024-06-11T04:55:00.000Z",
  "event_time_confidence": "pm1h",
  "created_at": "2026-02-13T19:25:08.213Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T20:50:33.231Z",
  "reliability_band": "strong",
  "location_precision_band": "exact",
  "time_precision_band": "within_1h",
  "severity_band": "moderate",
  "attribution_confidence_band": "medium",
  "attribution_basis": "single_source"
}

Public assessmentReliability: StrongSeverity: ModerateAttribution: MediumSingle sourceTime: Within 1 hourLocation: Exact

Source reliability

Info credibility

Event time

Jun 11, 2024, 04:40 UTC

End time

Jun 11, 2024, 04:55 UTC

Event time confidence

pm1h

Location

Joensuu Airport

Region

North Karelia

Primary actor

Russian hybrid influence operations

Country

Finland

Countries

Finland

Tags

GPS Jamming, Finland, Hybrid Warfare, russian influence operations, Aviation Safety, Joensuu Airport, Finnair, Cyber Attack

Nodes

Node 1: Borders

Loading signal...

{ "id": "7b77228a-5ce0-46c3-af07-0cc508a359d6", "url": "https://yle.fi/a/74-20093278", "source": "csv-import", "status": "approved", "category": "Cyber & Information Warfare", "subcategory": "Cyber Attacks", "incident_type": "Attacks on critical infrastructure (energy, transport, hospitals)", "country": "Finland", "source_reliability": "C", "info_credibility": "3", "tags": [ "GPS Jamming", "Finland", "Hybrid Warfare", "russian influence operations", "Aviation Safety", "Joensuu Airport", "Finnair", "Cyber Attack" ], "nodes": [ "Node 1: Borders" ], "countries": [ "Finland" ], "where_text": "Airspace", "headline": null, "description": "On the morning of June 11, 2024, a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Joensuu was unable to land at Joensuu Airport due to GPS signal interference, forcing the plane to return to Helsinki. Consequently, a return flight from Joensuu to Helsinki was also canceled. The interference disrupted the satellite-based navigation system critical for the aircraft's approach. The flight waited about fifteen minutes in the air for GPS functionality to return before deciding to abort the landing. Fintraffic's operational director Tapio Nurmela confirmed GPS jamming as the cause. Passenger and Finnish parliament member Hanna Räsänen, who was on the canceled Joensuu-Helsinki flight, suspects that the disruption is linked to Russian hybrid influence operations. Finnair arranged bus transport for stranded passengers, but some, including Räsänen, chose train travel. Räsänen missed scheduled parliamentary defense and administrative committee meetings due to the incident and has called for increased parliamentary attention and measures against such GPS interference.", "summary_short": "GPS interference prevented a Finnair flight from landing in Joensuu on June 11, 2024, causing the flight to return to Helsinki and the return flight to be canceled. Finnish MP Hanna Räsänen suspects Russian hybrid interference.", "summary_extended": "On June 11, 2024, a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Joensuu could not land due to GPS interference affecting satellite-based navigation, forcing the plane to return to Helsinki after a fifteen-minute wait. This disruption caused the cancellation of the morning return flight from Joensuu to Helsinki. Operational director Tapio Nurmela of Fintraffic confirmed the GPS interference. Passenger and Finnish MP Hanna Räsänen was among those affected and suspects Russian hybrid interference as the cause, noting the impact on her parliamentary committee attendance. Finnair arranged replacement buses for stranded passengers, but some opted for train travel for a faster arrival. The evening flight to Joensuu landed normally around 18:30 local time. This incident highlights ongoing vulnerability of Finnish regional aviation to GPS jamming, with prior disruptions reported at this airport.", "actor_primary": "Russian hybrid influence operations", "target_primary": null, "location_text": "Joensuu Airport", "location_region": "North Karelia", "location_coordinates_lat": 62.6622, "location_coordinates_lon": 29.6076, "location_precision": "Exact", "is_aggressor_signal": true, "signal_type": "HYBRID_SIGNAL", "is_hybrid_war_signal": true, "classification_complete": true, "hybrid_signal_complete": true, "classification_confidence": "High", "classification_rationale": "The incident involves deliberate GPS signal jamming that directly impacts critical transportation infrastructure (aviation navigation), with credible suspicions of Russian hybrid warfare involvement, supported by official statements and a parliamentarian passenger attributing the cause to Russian hybrid interference.", "event_time_utc": "2024-06-11T04:40:00.000Z", "end_time_utc": "2024-06-11T04:55:00.000Z", "event_time_confidence": "pm1h", "created_at": "2026-02-13T19:25:08.213Z", "updated_at": "2026-11-08T20:50:33.231Z", "reliability_band": "strong", "location_precision_band": "exact", "time_precision_band": "within_1h", "severity_band": "moderate", "attribution_confidence_band": "medium", "attribution_basis": "single_source" }