The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) have published a joint comprehensive action plan to strengthen the resilience of European air traffic to increasing interference with GNSS satellite navigation systems.
The background to this initiative is the significant increase in signal interference, particularly near conflict zones, which can impair the precise navigation of commercial aircraft. Although modern aviation is fundamentally capable of operating safely even without GNSS signals, such interference leads to reduced operational efficiency, a reduction in airspace capacity, and a potential strain on safety reserves. The plan now presented envisions a coordinated strategy encompassing short-, medium-, and long-term measures. These include improved monitoring, intensified data exchange, and the harmonization of procedures for pilots and air traffic controllers. A key aspect is also closer cooperation between civilian and military actors to enable faster and more coordinated responses to interference events. In the long term, collaboration with the avionics industry aims to promote the development of more robust systems that are less susceptible to deliberate manipulation.
Increase in GNSS interference and its operational consequences
In recent months, the number of reported incidents of GPS jamming and spoofing in European airspace has multiplied. Regions such as the eastern Baltic Sea, the eastern Mediterranean, and the Black Sea are particularly affected. Jamming involves overriding the legitimate satellite signal with a stronger interference signal, which can lead to a complete failure of navigation. The more dangerous spoofing, on the other hand, involves transmitting a false signal to the aircraft's receiver, which can cause the onboard computers to display an incorrect position.
These disruptions affect not only in-flight positioning but also critical safety components such as the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) and collision avoidance systems. If the GNSS signal fails or is unreliable, pilots must rely on conventional navigation aids such as radio beacons or inertial navigation systems. This significantly increases the workload in the cockpit and forces aircraft to maintain greater separation distances, which in turn reduces the capacity of the already heavily congested European airspace.
Coordinated measures for greater resilience
The action plan from EASA and Eurocontrol relies on a multi-stage strategy. In the short term, the focus is on improving situational awareness. A joint reporting system will enable pilots and air traffic controllers to report incidents in real time, allowing warnings to be relayed more quickly to following aircraft. Previously, data flows were often fragmented, making a comprehensive situational assessment difficult.
In the medium term, the plan aims to harmonize procedures. It seeks to establish clear, Europe-wide standardized protocols for handling signal loss. This includes specific instructions for communication between the cockpit and the control tower, as well as predefined alternative routes. A key component is the training and further education of personnel to enhance their ability to manage technological failures. Aviation authorities emphasize that safety remains the top priority at all times, but maintaining a smooth flow of air traffic requires a better technological response.
Civil-military cooperation as a security factor
A significant portion of airspace disruptions is directly related to military activities and electronic warfare. Therefore, the action plan calls for much closer cooperation between civil aviation authorities and the military staffs of the member states. The aim is to exchange information on planned electronic measures that could affect civil aviation.
The cooperation is also intended to ensure that military countermeasures are calibrated to minimize their impact on civilian corridors. At the same time, military reconnaissance systems enable more precise identification of sources of interference, helping civilian authorities to identify affected areas early and reroute traffic over a wide area. This integrated approach is seen as a necessary response to today's hybrid threat landscape.
Technological innovations and the role of the avionics industry
In the long term, the action plan sees the solution in the technological upgrade of aircraft fleets. EASA plans to increase cooperation with aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing, as well as with producers of avionics systems. The goal is to develop antennas and receivers that can better filter out interference. Modern multi-frequency and multi-constellation receivers, which use signals from various satellite systems such as the European Galileo, the American GPS, and others, are considered significantly more difficult to jam.
Furthermore, the importance of backup systems is emphasized. The return to a stable infrastructure of ground-based navigation aids, which had been partially dismantled in recent years in favor of satellite navigation, is now being revived as a strategic reserve. These so-called Minimum Operational Networks (MONs) are intended to ensure that safe flight operations can be maintained even in the event of a widespread failure of satellite systems.
Securing European airspace capacities
A stable navigation system is the backbone of modern air traffic management. The introduction of precise approach procedures and narrower flight corridors has historically been key to increasing capacity. Signal interference partially negates these advances. Therefore, ensuring GNSS integrity is also an economic necessity for Eurocontrol. Unnecessary holding patterns, detours, and delays caused by unreliable signals incur significant costs for the industry.
The strategy aims to protect Europe's technological sovereignty. With this action plan, the authorities are sending a clear signal to all stakeholders in the aviation sector: resilience to external interference will become a key quality criterion for aviation infrastructure. Only through the consistent implementation of the planned measures can Europe maintain its position as one of the safest and most efficient airspaces in the world, even under challenging geopolitical conditions.
In the coming months, the first implementation steps will be finalized in working groups with the national aviation authorities. This will also involve addressing the legal framework to more clearly define responsibilities in the event of signal interference. EASA will publish regular progress reports to increase transparency regarding the threat landscape and the status of technical countermeasures.