PU 7: Von der Leyen's Paper Maps
The story of how European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's plane was allegedly attacked by GPS jamming is a particularly egregious example of journalists not doing their job properly.
Ursula von der Leyen disembarks at Plovdiv Airport (Council of Ministers of Bulgaria)
On this week’s episode of PUNCHING UPWARDS:, I want to go back to a story from the beginning of September, which has been all but forgotten again in today’s breakneck news cycle. And I want to go back to it, precisely because it has been forgotten already. The story of Ursula von der Leyen’s flight from Warsaw to Plovdiv, GPS jamming and pilots forced to navigate her plane using “paper maps” is a prime example of how journalism, done wrong, can cause massive misunderstandings for the audience. When journalists don’t do their job properly, they become one of the biggest sources of misinformation — something they usually rail against very vocally.
ILS approach “Whiskey” for Runway 30 at Plovdiv Airport, which was used by the pilots of von der Leyen’s plane to land after the RNP approach became unavailable due to GPS interference (BULATSA)
Credits
Thanks to Sir Galteran for supporting the show via fountain.fm!
Sources
- Russia accused of sabotaging EU chief’s plane by jamming GPS, BBC News, 2 September 2025
- THIS Just makes Me So ANGRY and Frustrated!, Mentour Now!, 12 September 2025
- GPS jamming of leader’s plane puts Putin’s hybrid warfare on Europe’s radar, NBC News, 2 September 2025
- Bulgaria U-turns on claim Moscow jammed GPS of von der Leyen’s plane, Euro News, 4 September 2025
- Ursula von der Leyen’s flight to Plovdiv: what the data tells us, Flightradar24, 5 September 2025
- Electronic Flight Bag, the new standard, Airbus FAST Magazine, 2021
- Example aeronautical charts for flight simulation: ChartFox
- Aeronautical Chart Users’Guide, FAA, 20 February 2025
- RNP approach chart for Runway 30 at Plovdiv Airport (LBPD), BULATSA, 4 September 2025
- ILS approach chart W for Runway 30 at Plovdiv Airport (LBPD), BULATSA, 4 September 2025
- ILS approach chart X for Runway 30 at Plovdiv Airport (LBPD), BULATSA, 4 September 2025
- ILS approach chart for Runway 23L at Düsseldorf Airport (EDDL), Deutsche Flugsicherung
The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules!