Editor-DN
New Delhi: With Iran launching missile strikes on Israel late Tuesday night (India time) and the conflict worsening, airlines that fly over the region are scrambling for safety. LufthansaTuesday’s flights from Frankfurt to Hyderabad and Mumbai returned to Germany as the airline decided not to fly into the war zone for security reasons. Lufthansa’s Frankfurt-Hyderabad LH 752 and Frankfurt-Mumbai LH 756 were over Turkey when Iran launched a missile attack on Israel. As a result, return flights on both these sectors (India-Germany where these aircraft operated) have been canceled early on Wednesday.
Switzerland Avoiding the airspace of Iran, Iraq and Jordan. “This will add up to 15 minutes to flight times on our services to Dubai, India and Southeast Asia. Regardless of this short-term adjustment, Israeli and Lebanese airspace will be bypassed until October 31. “SWISS said in a statement. A Zurich-Dubai flight on Tuesday was diverted to Antalya in Turkey because of the longer route. The aircraft will refuel in Antalya and continue its journey to Dubai outside the affected airspace.
“Due to the current security situation, we are no longer flying through the airspace of Iraq, Iran and Jordan,” a Lufthansa spokesman said. Was able to run Munich-Mumbai on Tuesday.
An Air India official said: “All our flights are reviewed daily for any potential security or safety risks, be it in the Middle East or any other part of our route network. If required, our Adjustments are made to avoid risk areas with minimal impact on non-stop operations.”
Iran’s missile attack on Israel, fear and panic spread in Jerusalem look
The Ops Group — a global membership organization for flight operations such as pilots, flight dispatchers, schedulers, and air traffic controllers — issued a “special briefing” on Aug. 1 due to heightened tensions in the region. It said that in the event of an “air strike” in the region, a short-notice closure of airspace in Iran, Iraq and Jordan is “highly likely.” It advised members that “ongoing GPS spoofing, which can affect many aircraft systems, is prevalent in two areas: the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Even as the region remained tense this April, “GPS jamming and spoofing levels increased in the Middle East, with major blackout/intrusion sites appearing in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel.” The Ops Group said. Traffic routing through Egypt and Saudi on the Middle East Corridor (Southern Route) should expect counterfeiting and be alert for early signs.
Many pilots operating in the West say that GPS spoofing and jamming is getting worse by the day. “The moment we cross the Iran-Pakistan border, the jamming and cheating starts. This will continue until we clear Turkey in the west. This is also a problem in Russian airspace, especially Near troubled areas,” says the pilot.
“We notify ATC en route and ask them to monitor the aircraft’s position on radar. We are using an alternate DME-DME update using the aircraft’s last location. locates it,” says several senior pilots. Airline crews are trained to deal with GPS jamming and spoofing. With multiple war zones and security theaters, this becomes a real problem Going to confuse crews especially when crossing international borders and conflict zones.Airlines exchange notes on this issue on a real-time basis.
