The central government on Monday told the Parliament some flights operating near the vicinity of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi reported instances of 'GPS spoofing', but asserted that it did not impact their movements. The development comes days after several airports in India, including Delhi and Jaipur, reported technical glitches which impacted multiple flight operations.
In a written reply to a question raised by YSR Congress Party MP S Niranjan Reddy, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made it compulsory for flights to report GNSS interference in airspace and GPD spoofing. Besides, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has also requested the Wireless Monitoring Organization (WMO) to identify the source of interference and spoofing.
"Some flights reported GPS spoofing in the vicinity of IGIA, New Delhi while using GPS based landing procedures, while approaching on RWY 10. Contingency procedures were used for GPS spoofed flights approaching to RWY 10," Naidu said. "There were no effects on movements of flights, on other runway ends having conventional navigational aids being operational."
"After mandated by DGCA to report instances of GPS Jamming/Spoofing since November 2023, regular reports are being received from other major airports in the country. GNSS Interference Reports are being received from Kolkata, Amritsar, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai airports," he added.
The Lok Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam said the WMO has also been directed to mobilise its resources to identify the source of spoofing as per the details shared by the DGCA and AAI. He further said that the government is participating in global platforms to keep itself "abreast of the latest methodology and technology" for timely implementation of the same.
Naidu also noted that the AAI has implemented advanced cyber security solutions for IT networks and infrastructure to tighten the cyber security network. These actions, he said, were taken based on the guidelines by National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) and Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).
"Cyber security is ensured by continuous upgradation. As the nature and type of the threat changes, new protective measures are being taken," the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP said in his reply.
