NEW DELHI: With Iran launching missile attacks on Israel late Tuesday night (India time) and the conflict set to worsen, airlines that used to overfly the region are scurrying for safety. Lufthansa ’s Tuesday flights from Frankfurt to Hyderabad and Mumbai returned to Germany as the airline decided not to venture in the war zone for safety reasons. Lufthansa’s Frankfurt-Hyderabad LH 752 and Frankfurt-Mumbai LH 756 were over Turkey when Iran launched missile attack on Israel. The aircraft turned back to Frankfurt. Consequently the return flights on these two sectors (India-Germany that these planes would have operated) early Wednesday have been cancelled.
SWISS is avoiding the airspace over Iran, Iraq and Jordan. “This will increase flight times by up to 15 minutes on our Dubai, India and Southeast Asia services. Regardless of this short-term adjustment, Israeli and Lebanese airspace will be bypassed up to and including Oct 31,” SWISS said in a statement. Tuesday’s Zurich-Dubai flight diverted to Antalya in Turkey due to the longer route required to be taken. The aircraft will refuel in Antalya and continue its journey to Dubai outside the affected airspace.
A Lufthansa spokesperson said, “Due to the current security situation, we are no longer flying through the airspace’s of Iraq, Iran and Jordan.” Tuesday’s Munich-Mumbai was able to operate.
An Air India official said: “All our flights are assessed daily for any potential security or safety risks whether it is in the Middle East or any other part of our route network. Adjustments are made, if required, to avoid areas of risk with minimal impact on our non-stop operations.”
Opsgroup — a global membership organisation for people in flight operations like pilots, flight dispatchers, schedulers, and air traffic controllers — had on Aug 1 released a “special briefing” on due to the increasing tension in the region. It said in the event of an “aerial attack” in the region, short notice closures of airspaces in Iran, Iraq and Jordan “are very likely.” It had advised members that “ongoing GPS spoofing, which can impact a multitude of aircraft systems, is predominant in two areas: Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean.”
This April also when the region as very tense, “GPS jamming and spoofing levels surged in the Middle East, with major blackout/interference spots apparent in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel. Traffic routing via Egypt and Saudi on a Middle East transit (Southern Route) should expect spoofing and be alert for early signs of that,” Opsgroup had said.
Several pilots operating to the west say GPS spoofing and jamming is worsening by the day. “The moment we cross Iran-Pakistan border, jamming and spoofing start. This continues right till we clear Turkey in the west. The Russian airspace also has this issue, especially closer to the troubled regions,” say pilots.
“We inform enroute ATCs about this and ask them to monitor aircraft position on radar. We are using the alternate DME-DME update that uses the plane’s last location to keep track of its location,” say multiple senior pilots. Airline crew are trained to deal with GPS jamming and spoofing. With multiple war zones and security theatres, this is becoming a real issue especially while crossing international borders and conflict zones as a bid to confuse crew. Airlines exchange notes on this issue in a real time basis.
SWISS is avoiding the airspace over Iran, Iraq and Jordan. “This will increase flight times by up to 15 minutes on our Dubai, India and Southeast Asia services. Regardless of this short-term adjustment, Israeli and Lebanese airspace will be bypassed up to and including Oct 31,” SWISS said in a statement. Tuesday’s Zurich-Dubai flight diverted to Antalya in Turkey due to the longer route required to be taken. The aircraft will refuel in Antalya and continue its journey to Dubai outside the affected airspace.
A Lufthansa spokesperson said, “Due to the current security situation, we are no longer flying through the airspace’s of Iraq, Iran and Jordan.” Tuesday’s Munich-Mumbai was able to operate.
An Air India official said: “All our flights are assessed daily for any potential security or safety risks whether it is in the Middle East or any other part of our route network. Adjustments are made, if required, to avoid areas of risk with minimal impact on our non-stop operations.”
Opsgroup — a global membership organisation for people in flight operations like pilots, flight dispatchers, schedulers, and air traffic controllers — had on Aug 1 released a “special briefing” on due to the increasing tension in the region. It said in the event of an “aerial attack” in the region, short notice closures of airspaces in Iran, Iraq and Jordan “are very likely.” It had advised members that “ongoing GPS spoofing, which can impact a multitude of aircraft systems, is predominant in two areas: Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean.”
This April also when the region as very tense, “GPS jamming and spoofing levels surged in the Middle East, with major blackout/interference spots apparent in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel. Traffic routing via Egypt and Saudi on a Middle East transit (Southern Route) should expect spoofing and be alert for early signs of that,” Opsgroup had said.
Several pilots operating to the west say GPS spoofing and jamming is worsening by the day. “The moment we cross Iran-Pakistan border, jamming and spoofing start. This continues right till we clear Turkey in the west. The Russian airspace also has this issue, especially closer to the troubled regions,” say pilots.
“We inform enroute ATCs about this and ask them to monitor aircraft position on radar. We are using the alternate DME-DME update that uses the plane’s last location to keep track of its location,” say multiple senior pilots. Airline crew are trained to deal with GPS jamming and spoofing. With multiple war zones and security theatres, this is becoming a real issue especially while crossing international borders and conflict zones as a bid to confuse crew. Airlines exchange notes on this issue in a real time basis.
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