Airlines Report 623 Incidents Of GPS Spoofing In Delhi Airspace During January-February

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, March 12 (IANS) As many as 623 incidents of GPS interference have been reported by airlines around Delhi airspace from January to February this year, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.

The total number of GPS interference reported by airlines in the two-year period from November 2023 to December 2025 is 2,354, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued an Advisory Circular dated November 24, 2023, for addressing Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference in airspace. In addition, it has also issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) dated November 10, 2025, for real-time reporting of GPS Spoofing and GNSS interference events around IGI airport, the minister added.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has apprised Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) from time to time regarding incidents of GPS interference/spoofing for investigation, he said.

GPS spoofing-linked disruptions are a global phenomenon that were observed with increased frequency in geographical areas surrounding conflict zones, the minister added.

Cybersecurity threats to the aviation sector are in the form of ransomware or malware. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) identifies GNSS spoofing as a form of intentional Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).

ICAO GNSS Manual contains the mitigation plan detailing preventive and reactive measures, including frameworks for continuous threat monitoring, risk assessment, and the deployment of mitigation barriers. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also published advisories to airlines for guidance.

Earlier, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu said that contingency procedures were used for GPS-spoofed flights approaching Runway 10 at Delhi airport. There were no effects on the movements of flights, on other runway ends having conventional navigational aids in operation.

GPS spoofing causes false navigation data, such as incorrect aircraft positions and misleading terrain warnings, which poses a danger to flight safety, according to pilots and air traffic control officials.

Such occurrences have been reported within a 60 nautical mile radius of Delhi. The disruptions often required manual intervention, with air traffic controllers providing direct navigation guidance to the cockpit crew.

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