Govt says 1,951 issues of aircraft GPS interference reported in 2 years

New Delhi: A total of 1,951 issues of interference with aircraft's GPS system have been reported during the two years since November 2023, the government said on Thursday.

In recent times, there have been instances of GPS spoofing and interference incidents at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports.

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Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said GPS interference reporting started after the publication of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) advisory circular on November 24, 2023 regarding GNSS interference in airspace.

"Total GPS interference issues reported (November, 2023 to November, 2025) are 1,951 nos after publication of DGCA circular," the minister said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

Global Positioning System (GPS)/ Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) spoofing and jamming refers to attempts to manipulate a user's navigation system by giving false signals.

According to Mohol, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) identifies GNSS spoofing as a form of International Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) and Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) is investigating the matter.

On November 10, DGCA Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for real-time reporting of GPS spoofing/ GNSS interference events around the Delhi airport.

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.

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