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Some airlines and military aircraft, including the Australian commercial airline Qantas, are receiving radio interference and GPS jamming from alleged Chinese warships in the Asia Pacific, report Australia Aviation and The Guardian.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) released a statement acknowledging the reports of interference and recommended that pilots carry on, not respond to the warships and report all incidents to air traffic control.
“IFALPA has been made aware of some airlines and military aircraft being called over 121.50 or 123.45 by military warships in the Pacific region, notably South China Sea, Philippine Sea, East of Indian Ocean. In some cases, the flights were provided vectors to avoid the airspace over the warship. We have reason to believe there may be interferences to GNSS and RADALT as well,” the statement noted.
Further recommendations from IFALPA include notifying company dispatchers of the attempted contact and completing an ASAP report or other company safety report for non-ATC communication or GNSS interference.