Still overflying Israel? Now GPS spoofing showing wrong flights routings cause concern

NEW DELHI: The India head of a major western airline received a strange query from his staff on Friday: “Why are we still overflying Israel?” The official quickly double-checked with the HQ and found Israel, Iran, Iraq and Jordan are no fly zones for them as of now. However, GPS spoofing — a major menace since the start of the conflict right from Türkiye to Pakistan — is leading to flight tracking sites and live flight maps onboard aircraft that passengers watch showing wrong routings, causing concern among people.

“Since the escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict, we have been getting calls from corporate clients and others about routings. We have been assuring them that our airline is not venturing near the conflict zones. But GPS spoofing is leading to confusion,” said the official.

For example, flight tracking sites show Lufthansa Frankfurt-Mumbai LH 756 of October 3 overflying Israel. However, that was not the case. In a statement, Lufthansa said: “…safety of our passengers and crews is our top priority. Due to the current situation in the Middle East, Lufthansa Group airlines have adjusted their flight schedules: Iranian airspace will be avoided until further notice; Iraqi airspace will be avoided until further notice (with the exception of a northern corridor for flights to and from Erbil) and Israeli airspace will be avoided up to, and including, Oct 31, 2024… The GPS in the region may be inaccurate, which then also affects publicly accessible flight trackers. However, we can confirm that no Lufthansa Group flight will use Israeli airspace up to and including Oct 31.”

“All Lufthansa Group pilots use additional navigation instruments and procedures alongside GPS to ensure that there is no deviation from this rule and thus from the planned flight route that bypasses Israeli airspace,” Lufthansa statement added. This is true for all other airlines overflying the region on their flights between the east and the west.

This April also when the region as very tense, “GPS jamming and spoofing levels surged in the Middle East, with major blackout/interference spots apparent in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel. Traffic routing via Egypt and Saudi on a Middle East transit (Southern Route) should expect spoofing and be alert for early signs of that,” Opsgroup — a global membership organisation for people in flight operations like pilots, flight dispatchers, schedulers, and air traffic controllers — had on Aug 1 said in a “special briefing” due to the increasing tension in the region.

Several pilots operating to the west say GPS spoofing and jamming is worsening by the day. “The moment we cross Iran-Pakistan border, jamming and spoofing start. This continues right till we clear Turkey in the west. The Russian airspace also has this issue, especially closer to the troubled regions,” say pilots.

“We inform enroute ATCs about this and ask them to monitor aircraft position on radar. We are using the alternate DME-DME update that uses the plane’s last location to keep track of its location,” say multiple senior pilots. Airline crew are trained to deal with GPS jamming and spoofing. With multiple war zones and security theatres, this is becoming a real issue especially while crossing international borders and conflict zones as a bid to confuse crew. Airlines exchange notes on this issue in a real time basis.