Delhi airport glitch disrupts over 800 flights, AAI resolves Air Traffic Control system issue

New Delhi: Flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were severely disrupted on Friday after a major technical glitch hit the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, delaying more than 800 domestic and international flights.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed that the problem originated in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), a key system that manages flight plan messages for air traffic operations. The issue, first detected on November 6, led to widespread delays and at least 20 flight cancellations.

According to AAI officials, the glitch in the IP-based AMSS system was rectified later in the day with the help of engineers from Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), who were flown in from Hyderabad. “The AMSS systems are up and functional now. However, minor delays may persist due to backlogs as automated operations resume,” the AAI said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

During the disruption, additional staff were deployed to manually process flight plans to maintain safe and continuous ATC operations. The AAI also confirmed that an internal enquiry has been initiated to identify the root cause of the malfunction.

Data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed more than 800 delayed flights, with average departure delays of about 50 minutes. The affected count includes both arriving and departing flights.

Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa Air reported delays throughout the day, leading to long queues and crowded terminals as passengers waited for updates.

Officials said the Civil Aviation secretary and AAI chairman held an emergency meeting to review the situation and direct immediate corrective measures.

AAI, which manages India’s air navigation and air traffic services, assured passengers that normal operations would be restored soon, emphasising that flight safety was never compromised during the incident.

(with inputs from agencies)