Von der Leyen’s plane makes emergency landing in Bulgaria after GPS failure

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria after its GPS systems failed, reportedly due to suspected Russian interference, the Financial Times reports, citing its own sources.

According to the publication, GPS navigation services at the Bulgarian airport were disabled amid alleged Russian disruption, forcing von der Leyen’s plane to land using paper maps.

“The entire airport area lost GPS. This was undoubtedly caused by external interference,” one source said.

After circling the airport for nearly an hour, the pilot decided to land the aircraft with the help of analog maps.

Von der Leyen was visiting Bulgaria on Aug. 31 as part of her tour of frontline countries, including the Baltic states, Finland, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria.