GPS Jamming Activity Detected Around Venezuela And Trinidad

During the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, several flights overflying the region suddenly reported issues with their Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It turns out, Russia started using electronic-warfare jamming and spoofing transmitters to disrupt these signals in the region as a deterrent to opposing troops.

The side effect of this also affects the commercial side of aviation, with multiple airlines reporting issues with on board GNSS. GNSS encapsulates a number of systems, some of which include GPS (United States), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (European Union) and BeiDou (China).

On October 29, 2025, there was a notable spike in GPS blocking activity around Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and western parts of Venezuela. Sites like FlightRadar24 and Flightaware have also been affected as flights around the region are showing erroneous flight paths, typically associated with GPS blocking activity.

At the time of publication, the latest blocking data only extended as far as October 29, but regularly scheduled flights on October 31, 2025 still show bugged flight paths. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, noting degradation of GNSS signals in the area, recommending that pilots rely on either instrument or visual approaches for flights into Trinidad. The NOTAM is in effect until November 9, 2025 (and may be extended if necessary).

Aircraft OPERATORS REPORTED EXPERIENCING Global navigation satellite system SIGNAL Interrupt IN THE Vicinity OF THE ‘POS’ Doppler VOR. Aircraft OPERATORS ARE TO PLAN FOR SUCH Interrupt WHEN NAVIGATING IN THIS AREA. Available APPROACHES TO TTPP ARE: Runway 10 – VOR/ILS Runway 10 Runway 28 – VISUAL APPROACH

This latest occurrence comes in the midst of rising tensions between the United States and Venezuela. The spike in GPS blocking took place just one day before Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Gravely departed Trinidad following five days of joint training exercises with the Trinidad and Tobago’s local defence forces.

It’s also no surprise to note that the world’s largest military aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford is operating in the area as part of a naval build up in the southern Caribbean with the stated goal of combating drug trafficking.

How does this affect commercial flights?

When GNSS signals are blocked, pilots can no longer reliably rely on their satellite-based positioning data. However, this does not mean that airplanes will suddenly fall out of the sky or crash into each other. Aircraft have on board Inertial Reference Systems (IRS) that use gyroscopes and accelerometers to independently calculate movement, speed and position.

They can also reference nearby VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) and Non-directional beacon (NDB) stations to keep an eye on their position relative to their planned flight path. Air traffic controllers (ATC) also provide a helping hand as regions covered by radar are not affected by GNSS/GPS jammers. ATC can still instruct pilots of turn left or right on a heading, or to climb or descend, and manage speed as necessary.

As noted in the NOTAM above, pilots are being advised to plan for instrument approaches as these not affected by GNSS jammers either.

So, who is responsible for blocking GNSS/GPS signals in the area? Is it the Americans or the Venezuelans? That is the million-dollar question.

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