DGCA asks pilots, air traffic controllers to report GPS spoofing within 10 minutes of occurrences

Mumbai/ New Delhi: Aviation watchdog DGCA has 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.

In recent days, incidents of GPS spoofing and interference has been reported in and around the national capital's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the country's busiest airport that handles over 1,500 flight movements daily.

Against this backdrop, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to put in a place system to ensure real time reporting of GPS interference and spoofing incidents.

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.

"Any pilot, ATC controller, or technical unit detecting abnormal GPS behaviour (eg. position anomalies, navigation errors, loss of GNSS signal integrity, or spoofed location data) shall initiate real time reporting (within 10 minutes of occurrence)," the regulator said in a three-page circular issued on November 10.

The initial report should compulsorily have details such as date and time of occurrence, aircraft type and registration, airline name, flight route and coordinates of occurrence or area affected.

Also, the watchdog has said the entities should mention about the type of interference as to whether it was "jamming / spoofing / signal loss / integrity error" as well as aircraft equipment affected by the interference.

According to the DGCA, airline operators, pilots and ATS units may include further supporting details such as preservation of system logs, screenshots or images of the Flight Management System (FMS), and records of effects on connected systems and platforms.

ATS refers to Air Traffic Services.

All aircraft operators, flight crew and Airports Authority of India (AAI), including Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Communication, Navigation, Surveillance (CNS) units, operating in and around the Delhi airport have been asked to follow the instructions in the circular.

The CNS is the main function of Air Navigation Services (ANS) and Air Traffic Management (ATM). These critical functions are provided by the AAI.

"In view of the recent occurrences of GPS spoofing and GNSS interference reported in and around IGI Airport, New Delhi, it is imperative that all aviation stakeholders ensure prompt detection and real-time reporting (within 10 minutes of occurrence) of such events to maintain flight safety and operational integrity," the circular said.

The DGCA is probing the incidents of GPS spoofing at the Delhi airport and is also collecting such occurrences to have a better understanding of the situation.

In India, as many as 465 GPS interference and spoofing incidents were reported in the border region, mostly in the Amritsar and Jammu areas, between November 2023 and February 2025.

Several airlines had reported that aircraft operating in and around Amritsar have experienced GPS/GNSS interference.

Airlines have been reporting GPS interference with their flights in different parts of the world, especially while flying near or over conflict zones.

Both the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have been looking at the issue of GPS spoofing and jamming, and looking at ways to deal with them.