Israel blames Russia for GPS failure over Ben Gurion Airport
Russia’s actions are responsible for the radio interference in the sky over Israel, claimed a journalist specializing in air safety in an interview on Israel’s army radio station, Galei Tsahal.
A senior Israeli official has already met with US representatives in Europe to discuss the radio interference in the airspace over the Jewish state.
When asked by the presenter whether the developments should be considered cyberwarfare, the journalist said: “The interference can be called an attack against Israel”.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, with headquarters in Canada, has recently received numerous complaints from aircraft crews who have lost GPS signal in the region around Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The organization has even issued a warning to pilots, advising them to take into account the risks associated with a loss of signal.
The Israel Airports Authority has officially confirmed that there have been GPS signal issues over the last three weeks. The interference is only experienced in the air, and has not affected objects on the ground. GPS is particularly important for aircraft navigation as well as for air traffic control.
The airports authority also emphasized that GPS malfunctions have not yet resulted in any emergencies, and that the necessary adjustments have been made to the aircraft landing procedure. In the event of interference, landing will take place according to the instrument landing system. Ben Gurion Airport’s air traffic control is providing constant assistance to departing and arriving aircraft.
According to the airports authority, the problem is present throughout Israel’s airspace, and its causes are still unknown. Since the moment the issue arose, the Israelis have been taking steps to identify the source of the problem and to counteract it.
In January this year and November last year, Norway and Finland complained to Russia of large-scale GPS failure which, according to the Norwegian Defense Ministry, was first documented during the Russian-Belarusian Zapad (“West”) exercise in 2017.