In recent years, the threats posed by jamming and spoofing incidents have increased. For an industry which relies so heavily on accurate geolocation services, these constitute a considerable safety risk.
To combat the rising number of incidents, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) towards the end of January, identifying short, medium, and long-term measures to enact.
Luc Tytgat, Acting Executive Director, EASA explained these:
“We immediately need to ensure that pilots and crews can identify the risks and know how to react and land safely. In the medium term, we will need to adapt the certification requirements of the navigation and landing systems. For the longer term, we need to ensure we are involved in the design of future satellite navigation systems.”
With the increasing number of global attacks, EASA and IATA further identified some key actions to increase the resilience of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services provided by GNSS. These include reporting and sharing of GNSS interference event data both within Europe and on a global scale, revisiting guidance from aircraft manufacturers to ensure operators are prepared should an incident arise, alerts to relevant stakeholders about attacks from EASA, and the maintenance of a Minimum Operational Network (MON) of navigation aids as a backup for GNSS navigation.
Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA highlighted the crucial responsibility airlines have in navigating this rising issue:
“We need coordinated collection and sharing of GNSS safety data; universal procedural GNSS incident guidance from aircraft manufacturers; a commitment from States to retain traditional navigation systems as backup in cases where GNSS are spoofed or jammed. In actioning these items, the support and resources of EASA and other governmental authorities are essential. And airlines will be critical partners. And whatever actions are taken, they must be the focal point of the solution as they are the front line facing the risk.
Willie Walsh will be speaking at Aerospace Tech Review (17-18th April). To hear directly from key industry leaders pioneering innovative solutions and shaping the future of the aerospace, get your ticket now.
For what to expect from the event see:
- The new Aerospace Tech Week Europe agenda in brief
- From OCC to IOCC with Diederik-Jan Bos, Head of IOCC, SunExpress