As Ukraine, Gaza wars rage on, some airlines are benefitting

There has been a 400 percent increase in GPS spoofing incidents in recent months, impacting 900 flights a day on average.

Earlier this month, British Airways announced it would suspend its service between London and Beijing starting in October and lasting at least until November 2025.

It is the latest in a string of Western airlines suspending routes between the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Virgin Atlantic is set to slash its sole route to mainland China in the fall, which it attributes to costly diversions due to limits on Russian airspace.

Since the war in Ukraine began, Western carriers have flown south of Russia through much of the Middle East as a way to avoid Russian airspace. But amid recent escalations with Israel and Iran, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for airlines to avoid contentious conflict zones and the inherent risks that come along with it.

In recent months, both Iran and Israel have been accused of using GPS spoofing – a practice that sends inaccurate location signals to satellites in an effort to deter attacks away from civilian targets on the ground.

However, by doing so, GPS spoofing also impacts average people who rely every day on GPS systems like food delivery apps and plane navigation systems. That puts airline pilots in a dangerous position because in some cases it has meant that aircraft are flying blind, relying solely on visible landmarks rather than a global positioning system (GPS).