India confirms GPS spoofing attacks targeting seven major airports

The central government has confirmed that seven major airports across India were targeted by coordinated GPS spoofing attacks, prompting heightened cyber vigilance across the country’s busiest aviation hubs. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu told Parliament that flights on approach to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi detected manipulated satellite signals while preparing to land on Runway 10, with similar incidents recorded at airports in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.

The attacks involved the transmission of false Global Positioning System signals designed to mislead aircraft about their position and altitude during satellite-based landing procedures. The interference represented a direct attempt to compromise digital navigation systems that support modern flight operations.

No cancellations or operational disruptions occurred, as air traffic controllers activated contingency procedures and relied on established safety protocols to maintain uninterrupted flight movements. Aviation authorities stressed that the integrity of air traffic operations remained intact throughout the incidents.

Officials placed the affected airports on high cyber alert due to their status as major domestic and international gateways, underscoring growing concerns about the security of digital infrastructure in a sector increasingly dependent on advanced navigation technologies. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and national security agencies are conducting continuous monitoring and deploying enhanced countermeasures to reinforce the resilience of air traffic systems.

The confirmation of the cyber attacks follows a separate technical failure at Delhi Airport in November involving the Automatic Message Switching System, which briefly raised fears of a breach before being traced to a system glitch. Together, the events have renewed focus on safeguarding both operational and digital systems in aviation.

The spoofing incidents also coincided with global disruptions that required urgent software upgrades for Airbus A320 aircraft, a widely used narrowbody jet across India’s domestic networks. The issue affected 388 flights in India on Saturday. Airlines completed the required updates by Sunday, restoring full operational capacity.

Aviation officials noted that the combination of cyber threats and system failures highlights the need for stronger digital defenses as India’s airports evolve into complex, technology-driven hubs. Ensuring the security of interconnected systems, they added, is now as critical as maintaining physical safety standards in modern air travel.