Sialkot Flight Shown Landing in Jammu: How Dangerous Can GPS Interference Be?

The interference has become more noticeable amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with GPS spoofing, signal jumps and location glitches affecting flight-tracking information.

On Saturday and Sunday night, Qatar Airways flight QR630, arriving from Doha, was approaching Sialkot Airport at around 2:15am when FlightRadar24 showed the aircraft as being diverted to Jammu Airport. The discrepancy was attributed to GPS spoofing, signal jumps or location glitches.

Similar incidents have previously been reported in the area. On June 26, Flydubai flight FZ337 landed normally at Sialkot Airport, but FlightRadar24 data showed the aircraft as having been diverted to Jammu due to signal spoofing or a location glitch.

On June 27, Air Arabia flight G9552 from Sharjah and Flydubai flight FZ337 from Dubai also landed normally at Sialkot, although tracking data showed an alternative landing at Jammu during their approach.

Several flights operating to Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport have also reportedly experienced similar tracking discrepancies.

GPS spoofing, signal jumps and location glitches have also previously caused dozens of ships to appear on tracking systems as travelling on city roads or even moving across buildings.

Aviation experts say GPS spoofing, signal jumps, location glitches and ADS-B errors can cause location codes on flight-tracking websites to become mismatched. When an aircraft’s position is not displayed correctly, tracking data may fall back to default location settings.

Experts say Sialkot and Jammu are only around 40 kilometres apart. Because of their proximity, Jammu can appear as an alternative location on flight-tracking maps when positioning data becomes inaccurate, even though the aircraft has completed its normal flight.

According to aviation experts, such tracking errors do not necessarily indicate a problem with an aircraft’s own navigation system. Instead, they can occur because of inconsistencies between satellite signals and third-party flight-tracking websites. Similar situations can sometimes occur in the region due to military exercises or security-related measures.