The New Scourge of Airline GPS Spoofing

[PeterRS]

The number of airlines having to reroute to avoid areas of war and conflict has increased considerably in recent years. Some say that since 2021 the areas of conflict have increased by a whopping 65%, forcing airlines to avoid certain large areas with consequent increases in flight times and costs. As one example, flights between Helsinki and Tokyo now take up to three and a half hours longer than before the war in Ukraine began

Now imagine you are on a flight over Israel - and this is a true story. You are piloting a large passenger aircraft at a cruising altitude of 38,000 ft and all seems normal. Suddenly you notice that the clock in the cabin has started to go backwards. Then you notice that you are actually flying at just 1,500 feet off the ground towards moutainous terrain. Seconds later, alarms begin to sound and lights flash throughout the cockit.

On any other flight, a degree of panic would have set in and the pilots would have immediately pulled back on the yolks to increase height. This British crew did nothing! They were aware they were still flying at a very safe altitude. What they had just experienced was a new and very serious nuisance called aircraft "GPS spoofing" which causes aircraft systems to make "spurious" warnings. This is not the same as GPS jamming, but it can easily cause an aircraft's navigation system to compare the fake signals to other navigation aids such as navaids from the ground. The software is unable to comprehend the gross error, and all of the navigation systems can get corrupted. More details on the Aviation Week link below.

"Speaking to the Guardian on condition of anonymity, the [British] pilot called the incident last year unsettling, but stressed the flight was never at risk. However, they expressed concern that such an event only makes pilots more desensitised to the internal systems they have relied upon for decades. 'You are meant to feel uncomfortable in your inaction and that is exactly how I felt.'”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/24/flying-in-the-new-age-of-conflict-the-hotspots-diverting-flights-and-leaving-pilots-blind

https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/safety-ops-regulation/serious-threat-gps-spoofing-analysis

[Riobard]

At least the meal items and seat comfort are exactly as shitty as you expect.