NEW DELHI: The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi has, for the first time, been witnessing GPS spoofing incidents over the past few days, severely affecting flight operations.
The disruption, which becomes worse when easterly winds blow, has forced several aircraft to land from the Dwarka side and take off towards Vasant Kunj, causing congestion and diversions.
How GPS spoofing worksGPS spoofing happens when counterfeit satellite signals are broadcast to deceive GPS receivers, causing them to compute false position, navigation, and timing data.
Unlike GPS jamming, which blocks signals, spoofing feeds incorrect coordinates, making navigation systems misread the aircraft’s real location. Such spoofing has previously been reported around conflict zones like the Black Sea and West Asia, but this marks the first known incident in Delhi.
Runway 10/28 upgrade adds to the challengeThe situation has been aggravated by the temporary withdrawal of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) on IGIA’s main runway (10/28), which was closed for upgradation to Category III.
The new system, once ready, will allow landings in dense winter fog from both ends, but until then, aircraft depend on Required Navigation Performance (RNP) — which itself relies on GPS signals.
Also See: Delhi GPS SpoofingWith spoofing now affecting GPS from as far as 60 nautical miles from IGIA, flight movements on the main runway have been severely disrupted.
On Tuesday night alone, five IndiGo aircraft and two Air India flights had to be diverted to Jaipur due to navigation issues.
Congestion and safety concernsThe GPS disruption comes at a time when Delhi Airport is handling up to 1,550 daily aircraft movements, leading to heavy congestion whenever spoofing incidents occur.
The airport’s Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) has issued repeated warnings to pilots, urging them to exercise caution while entering Delhi airspace and switch to alternative navigation systems when required.
Authorities and airlines respondDelhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and aviation regulators are working to restore ILS functionality on runway 10/28 by November 27. Sources say that IndiGo has already conducted a trial flight to test the new system after the installation of a new approach lighting setup, and the findings have been submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
“ILS promulgation on the runway needs to be expedited as Nov 27 is a good three weeks away,” said a source, stressing the urgency to bring the system back online to mitigate spoofing-related risks.
Spoofing: A global aviation threatExperts explain that GPS jamming and spoofing are common in war zones — the former used to hide the location of military assets, and the latter to confuse navigation systems. Spoofed data can sometimes deviate by as much as 2,500 km, making it an alarming threat for civil aviation.
Airlines have begun alerting pilots in advance about possible spoofing hotspots and advising them to switch over to traditional navigation aids when affected.
What’s Next for Delhi AirportAuthorities say they are aware of the problem but have declined to comment on its origins, calling it a security-sensitive issue. Their immediate focus remains on restoring ILS to ensure uninterrupted operations.
“The only thing that needs to be done is having ILS on IGIA’s main runway 10/28 at the earliest,” said an aviation source.
Once the ILS upgrade is complete, Delhi Airport’s main runway will feature Category III capability on both ends, significantly boosting capacity and resilience during poor weather and technical disruptions.
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