Commercial airliners arriving at Lebanon’s Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut have recently been forced to use alternatives to GPS systems because of Israeli jamming technology.
A Turkish Airlines flight faced several difficulties earlier this week as it descended towards the Lebanese airport, forcing it to move in circles for around 40 minutes before returning to Turkiye.
“If they don't use the GPS signal, they will be using the ground-based equipment … which is not affected by any spoofing [or jamming technology],” a source told The National on 28 March. Lebanon’s Civil Aviation Agency has recently requested that civilian airliners suspend their use of GPS systems.
As a result, Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry has vowed to file a complaint against Israel at the UN Security Council for jeopardizing flight safety in the airport’s airspace.
“Lebanon plans to urgently present its complaint to the UN Security Council regarding Israel’s interference with navigation systems and civil aviation safety since the onset of the Gaza conflict,” the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement last week.
Authorities have also said Lebanon’s lack of cybersecurity expertise has made matters worse.
Following a cyberattack in early January, departure and arrival screens at Beirut airport began displaying anti-Hezbollah messages.
The concerns come after the discovery of an extensive Israeli spy network in the Lebanese capital in late December, which involved the use of highly advanced imaging and radio and frequency equipment that is unavailable to the general public.
It was also reported late last year that since the start of the war, several foreign military cargo planes landed at Beirut airport and the Hamat airbase in the north of the country.
At the time, the mysterious flights were said to have been potentially carrying jamming, monitoring, and tracking devices, according to Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.
https://thecradle.co/articles-id/24132