A Ryanair flight en route from London Luton Airport to Vilnius, Lithuania, was forced to divert to Warsaw, Poland, after experiencing “GPS signal interference” during its descent.

The unexpected incident occurred Thursday as the plane, a Boeing 737 MAX 8-200, descended to an altitude of around 850 feet before the pilot aborted the landing and rerouted nearly 500 miles to Warsaw.

Lithuanian air navigation officials confirmed that while the affected plane faced GPS issues, other flights at Vilnius Airport operated as normal.

A spokesperson said: “All other planes were landing at the airport as usual.” An investigation has been launched by Lithuania’s Defence Ministry to determine the cause of the disruption.

This incident comes amid ongoing allegations that Russia has deployed equipment capable of jamming GPS signals in areas near NATO’s eastern borders.

The Baltic region, along with the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, has seen increased GPS interference attributed to Russian military activity.

GPS signal disruptions in eastern Europe have intensified since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has reported “several thousand incidents” of interference annually, with Lithuania documenting over 800 cases in the final months of 2024.

This is an alarming rise from the 124 incidents reported in the same period the previous year.

Such interference has previously forced Tartu Airport in Estonia to suspend all flights for a month after two Finnair flights were redirected to Helsinki due to signal issues.

Similar disruptions have led airports in eastern Finland to reintroduce traditional radio navigation equipment.

Experts have pointed to a Russian military system known as Tobol, reportedly stationed in Kaliningrad, as a possible culprit.

This advanced technology is suspected of emitting false GPS data, potentially causing aircraft to swerve or dive to avoid non-existent obstacles.

Military analysts believe Tobol devices are designed to disrupt satellite signals, creating an “invisible shield” to protect Russian military assets from satellite-guided weaponry.

Russia has denied allegations of deliberate GPS jamming, but its activities in regions close to NATO borders continue to raise concerns.

Express.co.uk has contacted Ryanair for comment.