Russian Airlines Told To Prepare For World Without GPS 

Russia’s air traffic regulator sent a warning to airlines about potential upcoming flights without using the American Global Positioning System (GPS). 

Russian newspaper Izvestia reported Friday that a letter from the Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) instructed national airlines to be aware of “GPS failures, degradations, and abnormal performance.”

Areas prone to “jamming” of GPS signals and spoofing attacks include Russia’s western enclave, the Kaliningrad region, over the Black Sea, east of Finland, and the Mediterranean. 

The letter said FATA would assist aircraft crews when GPS signals are disrupted or turned off. 

Pilots are advised to immediately inform air traffic controllers of “glitches, degradation and abnormal performance of GPS” or related avionics. Carriers need to assess the risks and limitations associated with failures of navigation instruments and on-board systems using the GPS signal, and conduct additional exercises with flight crews to practice actions in the event of failures in the operation of satellite navigation systems. – Izvestia

The letter said aircraft crews must be prepared to perform take-off and landings without GPS and rely on backup air navigation aids. 

Izvestia outlined: “Experts believe that the recommendation to prepare does not mean a ban on the use of GPS.” 

Several Russian carriers, including Aeroflot and S7, have received FATA’s letter. So far, they’ve yet to encounter GPS issues since the invasion of Ukraine. 

In mid-March, Dmitry Rogozin, the director-general of Roscosmos and former deputy prime minister of Russia, said the US considered disconnecting Russia from the GPS. He noted that it would be very challenging for the US to do so. 

FATA’s warning comes after the European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned about increased GPS jamming and spoofing incidents following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Since Western sanctions are pushing Russia closer to China as a multi-polar world emerges, perhaps, if the US decides to kick Russian commercial jets off GPS, they could gravitate to a Chinese version.