The challenges of safely navigating around conflict zones seem to be increasing every day for international operators looking to conduct business in disrupted or unstable parts of the world, particularly in places such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
“Navigating the airspace of the Middle East has become a major headache for international operators,” said a November 18, 2024 report by the Opsgroup community of international operators. “In recent times, the risk to civil aviation in the region has changed at a pace we have never seen before. There simply is no ‘risk-zero’ route available.”
“We are having to be much more creative in our routing around the different hotspots around the world right now.”
Phil Linebaugh, COO, International Trip Planning Services
Regional airspace concerns put added strain on operators because they require much more coordination from takeoff to touchdown.
“We are having to be much more creative in our routing around the different hotspots around the world right now,” said Phil Linebaugh, chief operating officer at International Trip Planning Services (ITPS). “There are so many countries in Europe and the Middle East we can’t overfly today. And some that you can overfly, like Iran, we’re really trying to avoid. If you have any problem in an N-registered aircraft, well, you don’t want to be another headline on CNN.”
“We’ve created an internal process, with collaboration between pilots and dispatchers, of how we identify and analyze the countries we probably don’t want to fly over. While one pilot may be fine overflying a certain country, another may not. This process allows us to listen to all sides before making a final decision.”
Chad Patnode, Flight Operations Manager, Pfizer
“Due to these airspace challenges, we’ve made changes to our flight planning processes,” said Chad Patnode, Pfizer’s flight operations manager. “We’ve created an internal process, with collaboration between pilots and dispatchers, of how we identify and analyze the countries we probably don’t want to fly over.
“While one pilot may be fine overflying a certain country, another may not,” said Patnode. “This process allows us to listen to all sides before making a final decision.”
Flight Planning: Gather Information, Verify the Facts
Both Patnode and Linebaugh said that the key to successful planning today is having the most current and accurate information available. While some reports on many of the various news outlets can make your head spin, Linebaugh said ITPS often starts there.
“You can get an idea what’s happening where, but you have to take it all with a grain of salt,” said Linebaugh. “But once we have an idea, we can start researching ourselves to verify the facts.
“We have to maintain accurate information on the 192 countries in the world because, at any moment, we can get a phone call or email saying that the company wants to travel wherever it is,” Linebaugh said.
“We have to be prepared with the most accurate guidance possible.”
It’s important to monitor relevant developments in potentially unfriendly countries as well as their rules and regulations, which often are rapidly changing.
“Customs rules in much of Europe are in a state of flux right now,” said Linebaugh. “They float these new regulations out there and keep postponing their start dates, so nobody really knows when the regulations will be enforced. We have to make sure our customers are ready just in case.”
As a member of NBAA’s International Operators Committee, Patnode encourages all NBAA members to take advantage of what their peers can offer through insights and advice.
“We have a large network of operators who fly internationally all the time, and if we don’t have the answer for something, we know who to ask,” said Patnode. “Of course, you don’t want to follow what anyone tells you. The best tip is to talk to everyone you can inside and outside of your organization and determine the best solution for your needs.”
Mitigating GPS Interference on International Flights
There was a time when you could trust your GPS, but not today in some parts of the world. Frequent news reports describe commercial and business aircraft being affected by GPS interference in Eastern Europe or the Middle East.
Along with pilots and flight planners, Honeywell and other avionics manufacturers are also working to mitigate this problem. Multiple cockpit alerts warn pilots of GPS position jumps so they can get back on track using the aircraft’s internal reference system, which is unaffected by GPS spoofing or signal jamming.
“Internal data is unaffected by the loss of GPS signals or GPS spoofing,” explained Ryan Supino, vice president and general manager for navigation systems at Honeywell. “Systems like the Honeywell Air Data Internal Reference System (ADIRS) can provide pilots with either pure internal navigation parameters or hybrid parameters that fuse internal and GPS navigation data.
“Our new algorithms will reject spoofed GPS position shifts of 0.2 nm for more than six minutes and position shifts of 3 nm for over 60 minutes.”
Ryan Supino, Vice President and General Manager for Navigation Systems, Honeywell
“Our new algorithms will reject spoofed GPS position shifts of 0.2 nm for more than six minutes and position shifts of 3 nm for over 60 minutes,” Supino said. “The ADIRS will also alert the FMS and flight crews when spoofing is detected.”
While technology is all good, Patnode stressed that the crew’s awareness and preparation for a spoofing encounter are even better tools for minimizing problems.
“We know which routes make good targets for spoofing, and we make sure our crews are aware and prepared to encounter it,” he said. “We had a recent trip to Asia and knew exactly when and where we could get spoofed. Right on cue, it happened. We had discussed it and practiced what to do, so it was basically a non-event for us.”
One of the anti-GPS spoofing preparation tools Patnode’s department uses is the Live GPS Spoofing and Tracking Map on the SkAI Data Services website at spoofing.skai-data-services.com.
“I use it as part of my planning the day before each flight. It shows all of the jamming and spoofing events worldwide in the past 24 hours,” he said. “Unfortunately, we not only have these issues in the Middle East. Today, we see them in Africa, South America and other parts of the world.”
Communicate With Your Passengers
All these concerns about possible signal interference and flying near conflict zones can weigh heavily on passengers. That’s why clear, honest communication is another key to efficient and effective global operations.
“Managing passenger expectations is more important today than in the past, so we recommend that our customers provide detailed information before every trip,” Linebaugh said. “Trip permits into or through some countries, that used to take a day to get, may not be issued until the last possible moment. That can have a huge impact on schedules, and executives need to know that early on. They may want to leave a day or two earlier.”
Of course, delays can even happen in flight. “Iran used to be a good option when operating in the Middle East, but we’ve started having issues with them holding aircraft outside of their airspace for an hour or two while they clear them,” Linebaugh said. “So, we just recommend that our clients avoid their airspace altogether. Stop in the UAE for fuel and avoid all the hassles.”
Monitor Conflict Zone Flights in Real Time
To provide another layer of safety Patnode recommends constantly tracking flights as they happen. “If you’re going to fly in these areas of the world, you’re going to want to have someone at the home base watching over them all the time,” Patnode said. “If there’s an issue, you know someone at home can take action by contacting alternate airports or service providers in that region.
“When you hear stories of operators who have had issues in some parts of the world, you realize how quickly things can change and how beneficial it is to have someone watching out for them.”
Review NBAA’s international flying resources at nbaa.org/intl.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.