New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an alert on Friday, saying that Indian aircraft are facing a serious threat of losing signal while flying in the Middle East areas due to a glitch in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The DGCA said that this could lead to safety risks and accidents as the aircraft would fly blind without proper navigation.
The DGCA explained that the GNSS glitch is causing jamming and spoofing of the signals received by the aircraft. Jamming means blocking the GPS signals, while spoofing means sending fake GPS signals that mislead the aircraft’s position and direction. The DGCA said that spoofing is more dangerous than jamming, as it could result in the hijacking of an aircraft or a collision with another aircraft or terrain.
The DGCA said that it has raised this issue with the GNSS authorities and has demanded to fix the glitch as soon as possible. The DGCA also said that it has issued guidelines for pilots, aircraft operators, and air traffic controllers to deal with the situation and avoid any mishaps. The guidelines include contacting the equipment manufacturers to prevent jamming and spoofing, taking emergency measures to restore navigation, and establishing a threat monitoring and analysis network for aviation.
The DGCA said that the alert was issued after several incidents were reported in the recent past when Indian civilian aircraft had to deviate from their planned routes and enter Iranian airspace without permission due to the GNSS glitch. The DGCA said that this could cause diplomatic and security problems, as Iran is a sensitive region with military and political conflicts. The DGCA urged all the stakeholders to follow the guidelines and ensure the safety of the passengers and the crew.
