Flight delays at Delhi Airport after Air Traffic Control system glitch

New Delhi: Flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport were disrupted on Friday morning following a technical fault in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, causing delays of over 30 minutes for several flights, according to passengers.

Travellers on affected flights were advised to remain patient as technical teams worked to fix the issue. “Operations are expected to resume normal shortly,” Air India crew members informed passengers.

A passenger told IANS that their Air India flight had been waiting on the runway for more than half an hour due to the ATC system malfunction. The glitch reportedly affected both arrivals and departures for a short duration, leading to congestion at boarding gates.

As of now, no official statement has been released by any airline.

The incident comes just two days after the airport had announced that operations were back to normal following a similar technical problem earlier in the week.

On Wednesday, Delhi airport posted on X (formerly Twitter), “All operations have returned to normal. Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for flight updates. We thank you for your patience and cooperation.”

Earlier this week, airport authorities had confirmed disruptions in the check-in process for some airlines due to a system error. “We are coordinating with all stakeholders to reduce delays and restore regular services,” the statement said.

Air India had also posted an update, explaining that a third-party connectivity issue had impacted check-in systems at multiple airports, delaying flight departures. “The system has been restored, but some flights may continue to experience delays as normal operations resume gradually,” the airline said.

(with inputs from agencies)