DGCA Issues NOTAM till Nov 17 over GPS Threat Impacting Major Flight Corridors

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) effective from November 13 to 17, 2025, warning of potential GPS signal interference and loss across key air traffic routes in Central and Eastern India, following anomalies reported in high-density airspaces over New Delhi, Mumbai, and now Kolkata. This precautionary measure comes amid a pattern of disruptions that experts link to "grey-zone jamming" tactics—subtle electronic warfare methods often attributed to adversarial nations like Pakistan—aimed at testing India's defensive thresholds without escalating to open conflict.

Satellite imagery analyst Damien Symon highlighted the escalation, noting that after initial reports in Delhi and Mumbai, similar issues have now surfaced around Kolkata, prompting the advisory to safeguard navigation integrity during a period of heightened geopolitical tensions. The NOTAM underscores vulnerabilities in satellite-based systems, which have become indispensable for modern aviation, and reflects India's proactive stance in bolstering electronic countermeasures amid rising cross-border provocations.

Affected routes primarily span corridors connecting major hubs like Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International in Mumbai, and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International in Kolkata, where aircraft rely heavily on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) for precise positioning during takeoff, landing, and en-route navigation. Pilots operating on these paths may encounter position anomalies, signal spoofing—where false location data is injected—or outright GNSS blackouts, potentially forcing reliance on older inertial navigation backups or ground-based aids like VOR/DME, which are less accurate in congested skies.

Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet, which dominate these routes with over 1,200 daily flights, have been alerted to expect minor delays or diversions, particularly during peak hours; historical precedents, like the 2023 Ladakh jamming episodes, saw up to 15% of flights affected with average delays of 20-30 minutes. The DGCA's circular mandates real-time reporting of any irregularities, stating that "any pilot, ATC controller, or technical unit detecting abnormal GPS behaviour... shall initiate real-time reporting within 10 minutes of occurrence," emphasising rapid response to mitigate risks.

Geopolitics analyst WLVN (@TheLegateIN) described the incidents as a harbinger of targeted disruptions, warning that "all major strategic installations and metros, including as far as Central and Eastern India, are going to be covered under this, as Pakistan is expected to attempt targeting major Indian cities and industrial hubs in the next round." This marks the third such alert in recent weeks, building on isolated reports from border regions and aligning with global trends where jamming has spiked 300% since 2022, per International Civil Aviation Organization data.

Indian authorities are deploying advanced jammers and spoofers to shield critical infrastructure, including 20+ military airbases and civilian metros, while collaborating with the Indian Air Force's signals directorate for spectrum monitoring. The timing, coinciding with ongoing border skirmishes, amplifies concerns over hybrid threats that blend cyber and electronic domains, potentially extending beyond aviation to disrupt logistics in industrial corridors like the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.

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As the NOTAM concludes on November 17, aviation stakeholders urge passengers to monitor airline apps for updates, with the DGCA advising flexible itineraries and avoiding last-minute bookings on affected sectors. While no major incidents have been recorded yet, the episode highlights the fragility of GPS-dependent operations in contested regions, prompting calls for accelerated adoption of multi-constellation systems like Galileo and BeiDou alongside indigenous NavIC. In a nation handling 150,000 monthly flights, such disruptions could cascade into economic ripples—estimated at INR 50 crore per day in delays—but also catalyse investments in resilient tech, positioning India to fortify its skies against evolving asymmetric challenges.

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