The Interior Ministry says limiting access to flight data is a security measure.
The government has moved to restrict public visibility of official aircraft movements, with the Interior Ministry arguing that real-time flight data may pose security risks, according to Denník N.
The change affects aircraft operated by the ministry’s aviation unit, including the government Airbus A319 used for senior political travel. Until recently, the aircraft’s movements could be tracked through commercial flight-tracking websites such as FlightAware and Flightradar24, which compile publicly transmitted aviation data.
Interest in the issue increased after Prime Minister Robert Fico travelled to Moscow earlier this month for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Observers were able to follow the route of the government aircraft through central and northern Europe using FlightAware, the daily writes.
Days later, public records of flights operated by Slovakia’s government Airbus and a Fokker aircraft disappeared from the tracking service. A notice on the platform states that visibility has been restricted at the request of the aircraft owner or operator.
