Ryanair Flight FR3112 Was Meant to Land in Iași at 23:05 — It Touched Down in Timișoara Instead
Flight FR3112 left Bergamo at 20:21 on 26 October with roughly 180 passengers aboard and a scheduled arrival in Iași at 23:05. Instead, the aircraft landed at Timișoara more than three hours after takeoff, Libertatea reported. The crew reported interference with the satellite signal in the Iași Airport area and switched to the backup airport listed in the flight plan.
ROMATSA, Romania’s air traffic control provider, said the crew “decided to land at the alternate airport in the flight plan, citing interference with the satellite navigation signal (GNSS) in the Iași Airport area.” The aircraft received air traffic services continuously, including during the diversion, and the safety of the flight was not affected.
Passengers Were Split Three Ways
Some passengers stayed in Timișoara. Others flew back to Italy. According to Jurnalul, roughly half of the passengers disembarked in Timișoara, the aircraft then returned to Bergamo, and the remaining travelers reached Iași only the next day — about 22 hours between the scheduled and actual arrival, a delay of roughly 20 hours.
Jamming and Wrong Coordinates: What Iași Airport’s Director Reported
Romeo Vatra, director of Iași Airport, described a combination of problems. “It was a mix of factors. We have two phenomena — actual jamming of the GPS signal and incorrect coordinate indication,” he said, according to Newsweek România and Ora de Sibiu. Vatra said the airport was aware of the phenomenon “not necessarily officially,” mainly through discussions with airlines and air traffic control.
Did you know? On 26 October, five of the 23 aircraft monitored in the Iași Airport area reported positioning precision problems, according to data cited by Jurnalul from ReporterIS.
Why GPS Signals Are Being Jammed Near the Black Sea
ROMATSA said interference with GNSS signals intensified from February 2022 in areas near the conflict in Ukraine, including the Black Sea region. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also found an increase in such disturbances after the war began, and in July 2026 it updated its safety bulletin on GNSS interference with new rules for communication between pilots and controllers.
General in rezervă Constantin Ciorobea, contraamiral, explained to Știrile ProTV that electronic warfare installations placed to neutralize drones and guided missiles emit impulses on the radio frequencies used by satellite networks. The jamming equipment works by breaking the link between the satellite and the target’s receiver. Aircraft temporarily lose geographic positioning accuracy when jamming occurs.
11,040 Flights Affected in Ten Months
The problem is not limited to one flight. In the first ten months of 2025, a total of 11,040 flights were affected, according to figures ROMATSA representatives presented at an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) meeting in November 2025, cited by Jurnalul via ReporterIS.
Iași Airport’s infrastructure adds to the exposure. The airport lacks Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) at both runway ends, Jurnalul reported, so under certain weather conditions, landing aircraft must use GPS—the same system affected by interference in the area. Aircraft approaching from the Bucium direction depend on other navigation means, including GPS.
Conflicting Explanations: Weather, Malfunction or Jamming?
The official accounts do not fully agree. Ryanair cited “unfavorable weather conditions at Iași Airport,” Jurnalul reported, while airport representatives pointed to an aircraft malfunction. A source inside Iași Airport, however, confirmed to ReporterIS that GPS interference was affecting flights in the area on that date.
Ryanair has not issued an official statement on flight FR3112.
Crew Reports GNSS Interference Disrupting Landings
Why couldn’t the Ryanair plane land at Iași?
The crew reported GNSS interference near Iași Airport on 26 October and diverted to Timișoara, the alternate airport in the flight plan, ROMATSA said. Jurnalul also notes that weather and a wet runway played a role, and that five of 23 monitored aircraft in the area reported positioning problems that day.
Is GPS jamming dangerous for flights?
ROMATSA states that flight safety in Romanian airspace is not affected. The interference disrupts operations, but the air traffic system has backup plans and safety measures for these cases.
How widespread is GNSS interference in the region?
ROMATSA reported that interference intensified from February 2022 near the Ukraine conflict zone, including the Black Sea region. In the first ten months of 2025 alone, 11,040 flights were affected, according to figures presented at an ICAO meeting in November 2025.
Why does Iași Airport rely on GPS for landings?
Because the airport lacks ILS equipment at both ends of its runway, Jurnalul reported. In certain weather conditions, landing aircraft must rely on satellite navigation, which is vulnerable to the military jamming reported in the region.
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