1st ever ‘spoofing’ scare at Delhi airport: Pilots misled by fake GPS signals, forced to divert flights

NEW DELHI: The IGI Airport has for the first time been witnessing GPS spoofing for the past two-three days, leading to flights being impacted whenever easterlies blow, requiring aircraft to land from the Dwarka side and take off towards Vasant Kunj.

Earlier this year, the instrument landing system (ILS) of the airport’s warhorse main runway, 10/28, was withdrawn when it was closed for upgradation to Category III to enable landings in the winter fog from both ends. Without ILS, aircraft can land making use of ‘required navigation performance’ (RNP) and don’t need to rely on ground-based navigation aids.