RTWed, 26 Jun 2019 16:53 UTC
Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv
Israeli authorities are at a loss to explain multiple instances of pilots losing their connection to global positioning satellites around Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.
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 weeks.
The IAA noted that the issue seemed to only affect airplanes in-flight near the airport, and that ground systems had been totally unaffected.Although airplanes are not completely reliant on GPS systems, under certain-conditions like a low-visibility landing they can be a crucial safety tool. Despite such concerns, the IAA 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."
That said, the IAA noted that it still has no idea what is causing the disruptions. The Israeli Defense Ministry said that it has not yet gotten involved in the situation, calling it an IAA matter for the time being
.
Comment: Haaretz adds:
Confirming there had been GPS disruptions for approximately the past three weeks, an IAA statement said these affected only airborne crews and not terrestrial navigation systems. An aviation source told Haaretz the interruptions occur only during daytime, but "do not put pilots and passengers at risk."
Pilots use GPS for navigation within the Israeli airspace, and for takeoff and landing. The source said pilots have alternative instrument landing and navigation systems that are not reliant on the GPS to work. Another source said the announcement was meant to notify incoming flights to turn off GPS systems, and use the alternative instruments, as long as the interruptions continue.
Israeli authorities had worked from the outset to locate the source of the problem and fix it, the IAA added. Asked if an explanation for the disruption had been found, an IAA spokesman said: "No. I don't know." Sources in the Israeli Airline Pilots Association told Haaretz there have been recurring interruptions in the GPS systems in the eastern Mediterranean.
Asked for comment, a spokeswoman for Israel's Defense Ministry said only that the disruption was an IAA matter. "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," the IAA said. In its post on Tuesday, the IFALPA said the loss of the GPS signal may create numerous alerts for systems.
Members of the Israeli Airline Pilots Association said this is an unusual development that is not common worldwide. "It's unexpected and you don't know to what extent the jamming will be and where it will catch you," said one member. "This is not a local incident, but a big and significant event, and we are confident that the IAA and the civil aviation authorities will solve it," he said.
Comment: Haaretz adds: