Israeli Planes Mysteriously Lose GPS Signal Around Tel Aviv’s Airport Causing Multiple Delays

Israel has been experiencing unexplained GPS disruptions in its airspace in the past month, but "measures are in place to allow safe landings and takeoffs" at its main international airport, the government said on Wednesday.

The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) confirmed reports that “many” pilots had been losing their Global Positioning System (GPS) signals mid-air, and that the problem has been occurring for the last three weeks. The issue affected airplanes in-flight near the airport, however the ground systems had been totally unaffected. An aviation source told Haaretz newspaper that the interruptions occur only during daytime, but "do not put pilots and passengers at risk."

Important IFALPA Safety Bulletin, Loss of GPS signal at Ben Gurion Airport,
Tel Aviv, Israel (LLBG), https://t.co/Gk65kOQiVj #ifalpasafetybulletin #ifalpapublications #safesecureskies pic.twitter.com/aGWcXvzzi8

— IFALPA (@IFALPA) 25 июня 2019 г.

The IAA also assured that “at no stage has there been a safety incident stemming from the GPS disruption in the context of the precision of navigation and flight corridors.” However, the reason behind the disruptions of the signal remains unclear. 

The Israeli army’s spokesman told Haaretz that the incident had no effect on the Israel Defense Forces’ activity and that the army is assisting with “technological measures, in order to ensure freedom of action in Israel’s airspace.”