Armed conflicts and military operations cause high losses for airlines, which must be measured, among others with GPS interference – Spoofing and Jamming. Former pilot and expert Michał Fiszer emphasized that carriers always focus on safety, because “there are no profits without him.”
On the popular Flightradar website on the internet, tracking the routes of aircraft live, you can see a clear one “Stains” over selected areas, mainly Ukraine, Israel, Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan.
The growing number of areas covered by armed conflicts forces airlines to extend flight routes, which translates into higher costs and losses of carriers. In some cases, the connections become so unprofitable that they must be liquidated – according to the report “Flying in the New Age of Conflicts” published in “Guardian”. On some routes between Europe and Asia, costs increased by up to 39 percent.
“Guardian” calculated, for example, that the plane flying from Helsinki to Tokyo, bypassing Ukraine, spends 3.5 hours more in the air than before the full -scale attack of Russia on this country.
In December 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines crashed in Kazakhstan, 38 people were killed. The machine was accidentally shot down by Russian air defense.
In connection with the Israeli-Iranian conflict, Polish Airlines LOT introduced changes in the connection network.
“The safety of our passengers and crews is always the highest priority for us. In connection with the escalation of the situation in the Middle East, we would like to inform you that LOT LOT suspends the cruises to Tel Aviv until July 14 and to Beirut until June 30 – inclusive. On the possible extension of the suspension or resumption of connections, we will inform the carrier's press office in response to the PAP's question.
The carrier also assured that connections to India and Riyadh are carried out according to the distribution. “As part of our connection mesh, we do not use the airspace of Iran or Iraq. In individual cases, there may be changes in flight routes resulting from restrictions in the aircraft. They are a preventive effect and do not affect the implementation of flights,” added in the communiqué.
As emphasized in an interview with PAP, res. Dr. inż. Michał Fiszer, a lecturer at the University of Civitas, a former military pilot and aviation expert, carriers are very punishable by the requirement to avoid specific regions.
“If an airline, due to inattention or carelessness, allows people in which people die, then no one wants to use such a line,” he emphasized and added that this, to some extent, free market, the mechanism forces the carriers that the carriers primarily focus on safety, and all procedures are implemented in such a way that they create a wrestling.
The expert also drew attention to another important reason: if the area is excluded from the air space for any reason, in the case of loss of aircraft in this area – regardless of the cause – insurance does not work.
Armed activities are increasingly accompanied by Disturbing of the GPS signal – so -called spoofingi.e. sending a false signal to falsify navigation data, and jamming, i.e. deliberate signal blocking.
These techniques are most often used as a tool of defense against air attack means, such as drones, aircraft or directed shells. However, the crews of civil aircraft also feel the effects of these disturbances.
According to the international association of the Association of Air Carriers (IATA), as many as 430,000 were registered in 2024. cases of GPS signal interference – this is a 62 % increase. compared to the previous year.
Only in the first quarter of 2025 in the Middle East over 43 thousand were recorded. incidents related to Jamming and Spoofing, which is almost 80 percent. all reported events in the world during this period.
At the end of March this year, IndiatODay reported that between November 2023 and February 2025, 465 cases of GPS signal disruption were recorded in India, mainly in the state of Pendżab, near the border with Pakistan.
In some cases We are dealing with a deliberate attempt to paralyze air and sea transport of other countries. This happens in the region of the Baltic Sea, where Poland and neighboring countries are increasingly noting the disturbance of GPS signal by Russian military devices from the Królewiec region, known as “Balic Jammer”.
However, Michał Fiszer remains skeptical of media alarms about the threats that Spoofing and Jamming would be for passenger air transport. He explained that the aircraft is not relying only on GPS receiversbut also use other navigation systems, such as the accuracy navigation system, WORD and DME receivers, general directional radio and distance meters. In addition, reckoning allows you to determine the location of the aircraft based on known parameters without using external signals. “In addition, the crew can count on the support of radar stations on Earth and air traffic control,” emphasizes the expert. He also points out that although the GPS receiver is not formally required, having other systems is mandatory in specific airs.
“The flight plan has a heading in which the available navigation systems are entered. Depending on this entry, permission is obtained to flight in specific aircraft or does not get it,” explains Fiszer.
In his opinion, disrupting the GPS signal in aircraft is a hindrance and it can be annoying, but it does not pose a critical threat.
This also confirms the answer of the LOT's press office to PAP's question about the actions taken in connection with the growing number of cases of social and jamming. “GPS disruptions do not affect the functioning of our operations,” it was assured. (PAP)
Gru/ BST/ LM/
