Centre confirms GPS spoofing at Delhi, other major airports; orders probe

Days after Delhi airport reported GPS spoofing incidents, the Civil Aviation Ministry has confirmed similar signal interference at major airports nationwide and directed agencies to trace the source

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The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Monday said that several major airports, including those in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, have reported incidents of GPS spoofing and signal interference.

 

What has the government said about the spoofing incidents?

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said that the Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) has been tasked with tracing the origin of these spoofing attempts.

 

The Global Positioning System, or GPS, spoofing occurs when fake satellite signals are transmitted to an aircraft’s navigation system, confusing pilots or onboard systems about the plane’s actual position or altitude. Such false signals pose a serious safety risk, especially during landing.

 

What triggered the latest concern?

The statement comes after several aircraft approaching Delhi airport reported spoofing incidents, with navigation systems showing false locations up to 60 nautical miles away. Some flights were forced to divert to nearby cities.

 

“Some flights reported GPS spoofing in the vicinity of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi while using GPS-based landing procedures, while approaching on runway 10. Contingency procedures were used for GPS-spoofed flights approaching runway 10,” Naidu said on Monday.

 

He added that flight operations remained unaffected, as the opposite runway ends equipped with conventional navigational aids continued to be operational. 

What action has been initiated to identify the source?

The minister also said that the Airports Authority of India has requested the WMO to identify the source of interference or spoofing. “During the high-level meeting, WMO was directed to mobilise more resources to identify the source of spoofing based on approximate spoofing location details shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and AAI,” he said.

 

Reporting spoofing incidents has been mandatory since a DGCA circular issued in November 2023. However, last month, after the Delhi airport incident, the regulator directed all pilots, airlines and air traffic controllers to report such incidents within 10 minutes of occurrence.

Are other airports reporting similar cases?

Naidu also said that since the 2023 mandate, spoofing reports are being received from other major airports. These include Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai airports. 

How is India ensuring safety amid cyber threats to aviation?

To avoid disruption, the minister said, “Minimum Operating Network consisting of conventional (ground-based) navigation and surveillance infrastructure are retained in accordance with global best practices.”

 

He added that global cybersecurity threats to the aviation sector are in the form of ransomware and malware. The Airports Authority of India is bolstering its defences by deploying advanced cybersecurity systems across its IT networks and infrastructure, he said.