Laser interference

N.B: For up-to-date information on laser interference, change language selection to Finnish. 

Laser interference 2023

In 2023, there were 76 cases of laser interference reported, of which 35 occurred in Finland and 41 abroad. The overall number was clearly above the average for 2013-2022 (44.3). 
The number of interference cases that occurred abroad was double compared to the average. In Finland, too, the number of interference cases was also above the average of 27.7. 
The number of interference cases started to increase in 2021, and the growth also continued last year.

Approximately 70% of the interference cases in Finland occurred at Helsinki Airport, which has also been the most common area before. The other interference cases were evenly distributed among the rest of the airports, with Turku and Jyväskylä being the next most common. 

Autumn has typically been the most active period with regard to interference, and this also remained true last year. Most of the interference cases occurred from September to October, when a laser was pointed at an approaching commercial air transport aircraft. There were no serious consequences to any of the cases in Finland. In principle, a report of an offence to police is always filed concerning the cases, usually by the airline. Traficom also files requests for investigation with the police.

The number of interference cases abroad increased significantly, doubling compared to both the previous year as well as the average. 
Most of the cases occurred near London. London was highlighted as the area with most cases in the previous year, too, but now the numbers clearly increased. In addition to laser interference, plenty of interference involving drones was also observed in the London area. Other cases were fairly evenly distributed over the whole of Europe. 

Laser interference is a crime. Pointing a laser beam at the crew of an aircraft is punishable in itself, even if it did not cause any actual damage or real danger to the aircraft, its crew or the passengers.

The first sentence for laser interference was handed down in 2018, when the District Court of Lapland sentenced a man who had pointed a powerful laser beam at a medical helicopter to a fine. In its judgment, the Court found the man guilty of causing a serious traffic hazard and that his interference had caused a danger to aviation safety. Currently in progress is a pre-trial investigation by the police into a case of interference with a general aviation aircraft in Hyvinkää in September 2022. 

In March 2021, FinnHEMS, the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish Border Guard, the Finnish Pilots’ Association (FPA), the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) and Traficom started the campaign “Laser ei ole lelu” (“A laser is not a toy”, in Finnish) (External link), which brings attention to the serious consequences of laser interference to air traffic. 

In September 2019, Traficom published a safety bulletin on laser interference (in Finnish) (External link) reminding of the dangers of laser interference and instructing pilots on how to act in the case of laser interference. The bulletin also described the first criminal conviction for laser interference.

Pointing with a laser is punishable by law

Handheld laser pointers are cheap and easily available, which means that many people see them as toys. In Finland, the maximum permitted output of an individual laser pointer is one milliwatt. Audiovisual equipment may have a laser pointer with five milliwatts of power at maximum. If such a pointer has a green beam, it may interfere with pilots at a distance of up to three kilometres. If the laser has 125 mW of power, the interference may reach up to 18 kilometres. Eyes are clearly more sensitive to green light than red or blue light.

Pointing the beam of a laser pointer at the flight crew of an aircraft is punishable in itself, even if it did not cause any actual damage or real danger to the aircraft, its crew or the passengers.

If e.g. the beam actually hits the eyes of the flight crew during a critical stage of the flight, i.e. takeoff or landing so that the pilot is blinded or even loses their eyesight partially, the dangerous situation is real and serious. This may constitute an offence called “causing danger” or, in certain situations, “criminal traffic mischief” or “negligent endangerment.”

If the use of a laser pointer causes real damage, the situation will naturally be assessed in a completely different manner. In that case, all the provisions of the Criminal Code that safeguard the life and health of people apply, such as the provisions on negligent bodily injury and homicide. Naturally, the party causing the damage would also be liable for the considerable financial damage.