New Delhi/Geneva: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has raised serious concerns over the increasing number of GPS spoofing and jamming incidents worldwide, with a noticeable spike reported across several major Indian airports. The global airline body said the growing interference poses a significant risk to flight navigation and pilot safety.
IATA, which represents over 360 airlines accounting for more than 80% of global air traffic, revealed that airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai have witnessed multiple cases of GPS interference in recent months.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh, speaking at an industry interaction in Geneva, said, “GPS spoofing and jamming incidents are increasing rapidly across the world. This is not merely a technical concern — it’s an operational vigilance issue for pilots.” Walsh noted that the frequency of such events has become “significantly higher,” expanding well beyond conflict zones and now affecting global civil aviation routes.
What is GPS Spoofing and Jamming?
Modern aviation depends heavily on the Global Positioning System (GPS) or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) for accurate positioning, routing, and altitude determination.
Spoofing involves sending false navigation signals to mislead an aircraft’s onboard system.
Jamming refers to deliberate disruption of legitimate GPS signals, making navigation unreliable.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classifies GNSS spoofing as a type of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) — an emerging global safety threat that requires urgent mitigation.
Growing Incidents in India
India’s Civil Aviation Ministry informed Parliament this week that between November 2023 and November 2025, a total of 1,951 GPS interference cases were reported. The data collection began after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an advisory circular in November 2023, mandating airlines to report all GNSS-related disruptions.
Officials said most of these events occurred during the cruise phase of flights — typically at high altitudes near international or border airspace. While no major accidents or navigation failures have been reported so far, DGCA has instructed airlines to maintain “heightened operational vigilance.”
IATA Data Highlights Sharp Increase
According to Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety, and Security, the rate of GPS signal loss — measured per 1,000 flights — has nearly doubled in three years, rising from 31 events in 2022 to 59 in 2025.
The figures come from IATA’s Flight Data eXchange (FDX), part of the Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) programme, which compiles de-identified flight data from member airlines.
“This increase cannot be explained by higher flight volumes alone,” Careen noted. “It clearly indicates that GPS interference and jamming are becoming more frequent and widespread.”
Global Spread and Military Link
Initially concentrated in the Middle East, GPS disruptions began spreading after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, affecting Eastern Europe, and now extending to India, wider Asia, and Venezuela, according to IATA.
“These are not deliberate attacks on civil aviation,” Careen clarified. “In most cases, they result from military or defense operations using radio-frequency jamming to secure airspace in or around conflict zones — but civilian flights often get caught within the extended range of such signals.”
He stressed the need for stronger coordination, communication, and monitoring systems between global and regional aviation regulators. “This isn’t a situation that should make anyone afraid of flying,” he added, “but pilots and airlines must be better trained and prepared to handle such disruptions.”
Warnings and Recommendations for Airlines
Following the surge, IATA has directed all member airlines — including Air India, IndiGo, Air India Express, and SpiceJet — to ensure that their pilots are trained to identify GNSS interference and switch to alternate navigation systems such as INS, VOR, and DME when required.
Aviation safety analysts warn that for a vast airspace like India’s, which is heavily dependent on satellite navigation, such incidents pose a growing operational challenge. They recommend the creation of a national GNSS Monitoring and Alert Network to detect and mitigate spoofing or jamming activity in real time.
Conclusion
IATA’s alert has reignited the debate on global aviation cybersecurity and navigation reliability. With increasing air traffic density and expanding conflict zones, GPS vulnerability has emerged as a critical safety concern.
For India, the challenge now lies in reinforcing technical safeguards, pilot readiness, and cross-agency coordination to ensure that flight safety remains uncompromised — even amid the rising tide of invisible satellite signal wars.
