Govt confirms some flights reported GPS spoofing across country, launches probe

Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday addressed concerns in Parliament regarding recent GPS spoofing alerts reported by flights approaching Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, saying that established protocols were followed to manage the situation.

“Some flights reported GPS spoofing in the vicinity of IGIA, New Delhi while using GPS based landing procedures, while approaching on RWY 10,” the minister informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

He confirmed that multiple airports across the country, including Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, had recorded similar occurrences.

The minister briefed the House on the frequency of such incidents and the steps taken by aviation authorities to ensure safe operations. Over the past few days, pilots flying into IGI Airport, one of India’s busiest with more than 1,400 daily movements, have reported episodes of GPS interference and spoofing near the airfield.

“The 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. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued advisory circular ANSS AC 01 of 2023 dated 24.11.2023 for addressing GNSS Interference in Airspace,” Naidu further said.

In addition, DGCA has also issued Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) dated November 10, 2025 for real-time reporting of GPS Spoofing/GNSS Interference Events around IGI Airport. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also requested Wireless Monitoring Organisation (WMO) to possibly identify the source of interference/ spoofing.”

He emphasised that flight operations remained unaffected due to timely deployment of backup procedures and the availability of conventional navigation systems on other approach paths. Authorities are now working to trace the origin of the interference and prevent any recurrence.

“India is participating in global platforms to keep itself abreast of the latest methodology & technology for timely implementation of the same. Further, the global cyber security threats to the aviation sector are in the form of ransomware/malware. To enhance cyber security against global threats, AAI is implementing advanced cyber security solutions for IT Networks and Infrastructure,” said the minister.

These actions, the minister said, have been taken in accordance with the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) guidelines.

“Cyber security is ensured by continuous upgradation. As the nature and type of the threat changes, new protective measures are being taken,” he added.