Australian airline Qantas has warned its pilots about radio interference and GPS jamming coming from Chinese military vessels.
The airline said that some of its planes had experienced interference on VHF channels purported to represent the Chinese military in the South China Sea. The reported interference hasn't caused any safety issues and pilots were told to report such incidents to air traffic control.
Tony Lucas, the Australian and International Pilots Association president, and Qantas captain, released a statement last week saying that interference had been detected.
He said our members are aware of recent reported communication and electronic interference. The pilots of the Qantas Group are well trained and ready to handle these kinds of issues in accordance with defined procedures. The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations issued a statement confirming the interference earlier this month.
The IFALPA has been made aware of some airlines and military aircraft calling over 121.50 or 123.45 by military warships in the Pacific region, notably South China Sea, Philippine Sea, East of Indian Ocean, the group said.
It urged pilots not to respond to the warships.
The group said that IFALPA is engaging with IATA and air navigation service providers ANSPs to make sure all parties are aligned with our procedures and to prevent this from happening in the future.
In recent years, tensions between China and Australia have been fraught. President Biden and the leaders of Australia and the United Kingdom announced last week that Australia would purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. to modernize its fleet amid growing concerns about China's influence in the Indo-Pacific.
The AUKUS deal named after Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States provoked an angry accusing Australia of going down a path of error and danger.