Delhi Airport GPS Spoofing Cases: Incidents of sudden loss of GPS signal in many flights flying near Delhi airport have alerted the pilots and aviation system. The government has admitted in Parliament for the first time that incidents of GPS glitches and deliberately sent fake GPS signals (spoofing) have been recorded not only in Delhi, but also around many major airports of the country. This poses a challenge to the navigation systems that aircraft rely on during landing and navigation.
This statement given by the government is also important because till now GPS related problems were seen as an isolated technical problem. But now it has become clear that such reports are continuously coming from the airports of major cities like Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. This situation indicates a growing threat to the country’s air security and GPS navigation system.
Spoofing reported near Runway 10 of Delhi Airport
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that some flights using satellite-assisted landing procedure on Runway 10 near Indira Gandhi International Airport reported tampering with GPS signals. In these cases the pilots had to immediately adopt alternative procedures. In such a situation, the plane lands safely with the help of old navigation equipment installed on the ground. The government said that there was no impact on flights on runways where the old ground navigation system is used.
Which airports are affected?
According to the information provided in Parliament by the government, in the last one year, disturbances in GPS signals were recorded at these major airports-
- Delhi
- Kolkata
- Amritsar
- Mumbai
- Hyderabad
- Bengaluru
- Chennai
It is clear from this that the problem is not limited to any one area, but many busy air routes of the country have come under its scope.
It is necessary to report immediately
In November 2023, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has given a big order to pilots and air traffic controllers. It was said in this order that if there is any tampering with GPS signals, stoppage of signals or suspicious activity, then it should be immediately reported. After this, a new special instruction was issued for Delhi Airport on 10 November 2025. It said that if GPS signals behave abnormally, the pilot and controller will send immediate information and take the plane to a safe place.
How is air guidance being kept safe in the country?
The government said that even though most of the directions are now available from satellite (GPS), a reliable backup system is always operational in India for security. In this-
- At every major airport, older, ground-based navigation equipment remains in constant operation.
- Flights can immediately use these traditional signals if the satellite signal deteriorates.
- A double security system is in place for monitoring and guiding the sky, so that flights remain safe in any emergency.
- According to the government, this system is in line with the best systems adopted in the world.
Rising incidence and what are the concerns ahead?
Experts say that incidents of electronic interference and tampering with GPS signals have increased across the world. Major air routes of India also did not remain untouched by this. The central government said that it is continuously monitoring and working on further improving signal-related security systems. Experts predict that in the future, detailed investigation and more advanced security technology will be implemented, so that such cases can be curbed in advance.
