It’s a form of electronic warfare that’s typically reported from conflict zones or borders. However, last week, GPS spoofing hit Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Fake satellite signals misled aircraft navigation systems, sent flight paths off course, and threw operations at the country’s busiest airport into chaos.
Not just for a day or two, some pilots reported encountering spoofing all through the week. The incidents coincided with the airport’s main runway undergoing instrument landing system (ILS) upgrades, which left the arriving aircraft more dependent on satellite navigation, and hence, vulnerable to spoofing. Trouble with the air traffic control’s automatic message switching system affected more than 800 flights.
In essence, GPS spoofing involves manipulating navigation data with malicious intent. Unlike jamming, which blocks GPS signals, spoofing involves transmitting fake satellite signals to override genuine ones. The aircraft’s navigation systems pick up these counterfeit signals and calculate wrong data for position, altitude, time, and speed. The fake signals override the genuine satellite signals using specialised hardware or software. The receiver may consider the amplified spoofed signals as authentic, ending up flying blind or even worse, dangerously off-course.
India is not alone in facing the menace, which the International Air Transport Association has noted is on the rise worldwide. However, it’s also a national risk, with aviation experts warning of a threat to the “integrity of civilian navigation systems”. This March, the government reported as many as 465 GPS interference and spoofing incidents in the border region near Amritsar between November 2023 and February 2025.
For Delhi, mitigation requires promulgating ILS at the earliest, which the airport operator has promised by November 27. Once the upgrades are complete, IGIA’s main runway will be equipped with Category III capabilities at both ends, significantly enhancing capacity and resilience against adverse weather and technical disruptions.
For the future, the government should deploy more advanced detection systems, increase reliance on and upgrade ground-based navigation, and improve data sharing and pilot training in collaboration with international bodies. If we learnt anything from one of the worst crashes in India’s history this June, it’s that we need to keep working on air safety continuously. Rest is not an option.