The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) received more than 18,000 flight safety notifications from aviators in 2023, which was more than double the average volume of such reports during 2013-2022, the agency reported on Friday.
Traficom's annual aviation security report for last year noted that the uptick in notifications was prompted by an increase in reports about GPS interference incidents.
There were around 7,500 reports about GPS disruptions last year, compared to around 1,500 in 2022. However the disturbances did not significantly affect aviation safety, according to the agency.
Aviator reporting is an essential part of the safety chain, according to Traficom's aviation chief, Jari Pöntinen.
Reporting aviation disruptions is done anonymously and Traficom focuses on "increasing safety, not on finding culprits," Pöntinen said in a press release.
No accidents in commercial aviation
At the beginning of the year, the agency confirmed there were GPS signal disturbances in eastern and southeastern Finland on New Year's Eve, but noted they did not affect flight safety.
Traficom reported that there were no accidents in Finnish commercial aviation, but there were seven serious incidents, which reflected a slight increase compared to recent years.
Drones played a role in three dangerous situations last year, where Finnish aircraft nearly collided with the remote-controlled flying devices. The drones in those cases were clearly flying in restricted airspace — such as too close to a runway or at a considerable elevation, according to Traficom.
There were two dangerous situations at Helsinki Airport last year. In one case a plane was forced to return after taking off due to a collision with a bird. The second incident took place on the airport's tarmac, when a child passenger nearly walked into the propellers of a taxiing plane.
There were, however, four accidents in general and recreational aviation last year, one of which — involving a stunt plane that crashed — resulted in a fatality. Additionally there were 13 dangerous incidents, which is below the 10-year average.
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