GPS spoofing near key airports, Govt admits

The Union Government on Monday informed the Parliament of incidents of Global Positioning System (GPS) spoofing reported near major Indian airports. Acknowledging these cyberattacks for the first time, the Government added that the Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) has been directed to identify the source of spoofing.

GPS spoofing refers to attempts to manipulate navigation systems by giving false signals. Responding to questions raised by MP S Niranjan Reddy, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said, “Some flights reported GPS spoofing in the vicinity of IGIA, New Delhi, while using GPS-based landing procedures, while approaching on RWY 10. Contingency procedures were used for GPS spoofed flights approaching to RWY 10. There were no effects on movements of flights, on other runway ends having conventional navigational aids being operational.”

After being mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to report instances of GPS jamming/ spoofing since November 2023, regular reports are being received from other major airports in the country.

“GNSS interference reports are being received from Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports,” the minister added. Last month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asked airlines, pilots and air traffic controllers to report GPS spoofing incidents within 10 minutes of the occurrences, amid recent such incidents at the Delhi airport. The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) require immediate reporting by pilots and air traffic controllers whenever abnormal GPS behaviour is detected.

The minister said India continues to maintain a Minimum Operating Network (MON) of conventional, ground-based navigation and surveillance systems in line with global best practices. These systems provide reliable backup when satellite-based navigation is disrupted.

The minister also highlighted broader cybersecurity threats to the aviation sector, including ransomware and malware targeting critical systems. To counter these risks, AAI is deploying advanced cybersecurity solutions across its IT networks and infrastructure. These upgrades are being carried out in accordance with guidelines issued by the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).

This incident follows a separate system failure at the Delhi airport in November, which caused widespread delays and had also raised initial suspicions of a cyber-attack. However, that incident was later attributed to a technical glitch in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS). The Ministry of Civil Aviation and related security agencies continue to monitor the situation to ensure the uninterrupted flow of air traffic.