Filenews 5 December 2023 - by Fanis Makrides
Problems of obstruction of the "Global Navigation System", better known as GPS, in the airspace of Cyprus have been observed recently, according to international reports.
German carrier Lufthansa, one of the world's largest airlines, has taken steps to address the phenomenon in parts of the Middle East by giving specific instructions to pilots in the fleet for "intentional critical situations".
Problems with intentional signal jammers result in the pilot not being able to know exactly his position. Either there are interruptions, or the position of the aircraft is shown in the wrong place (spoofing).
German website Aero reported last week on a problem on a Lufthansa flight, with the captain receiving "false data" about the exact position of the aircraft. The phenomenon is linked to the crisis in the Middle East.
The report claims that the phenomenon was recently observed while a plane of the German giant was heading from Adana in southern Turkey to Larnaka. There is talk of electronic warfare, as a result of which the captain of the aircraft does not have a real picture of his position, which forced him to turn off the GPS receivers.
It is added that "thanks to the fact that the crew members turned off the GPS sensors, the position of the aircraft was accurately determined through the authorities of Larnaka airport."
According to researchers who analyzed the phenomenon, the areas of Beirut, Cairo, Baghdad and Tel Aviv are considered to be the hot spots of "spoofing attacks". Asked to comment on the Aero website, a Lufthansa spokesman said: "GPS attacks are a serious interference with civil aviation security and a threat to the safe conduct of civil flights." He added that "all Lufthansa pilots are well trained for important deliberate crisis situations."
From the point of view of the Civil Aviation of the Republic of Cyprus and in particular the Air Traffic Sector, however, there is knowledge of the issue and air traffic controllers are able to manage such issues.
These attacks, which affect Global Navigation Systems, have been observed since 2012, at a time when fighting was intense during the Syrian civil war.
The same information of our newspaper states that after the latest developments in the Middle East after the October 7 attack by Hamas in Israel and the subsequent military operations of the Israeli army in Gaza, such phenomena occur with a frequency that varies. "In one day there may be two reports of navigation problems, in another there may be 10 reports, and the next day there may be none," a source told F. It should be noted that on 6 November the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) revised a factsheet on such interference.
