A method from discriminating between spurious and genuine surges in a gas turbine engine is provided which includes the steps of receiving an engine speed signal over a global engine surge investigation region that includes a plurality of operating regions (e.g. speed bands) in which engine surges can occur, identifying a specific operating region in which an engine surge event occurs, incrementing a surge counter corresponding to the operating region in which the engine surge event occurred, identifying the operating regions in which no engine surge event occurred, decrementing a surge counter corresponding to each operating region in which no engine surge event occurred; enabling a surge avoidance signal when the magnitude of the surge counter for a particular operating region has reached a predetermined value; and adapting an engine acceleration schedule in the operating region corresponds to the surge avoidance signal.