New Delhi, November 7:
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), India’s busiest aviation hub, faced massive disruptions on Friday after a technical failure in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system led to over 800 flight delays and several cancellations.
According to official sources, the glitch occurred in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) — a key component that supports ATC data and flight planning. The issue, which began around 5:45 a.m., quickly escalated, impacting both domestic and international flight operations.
Airlines including IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air confirmed widespread delays, citing the ongoing technical malfunction. Around 20 flights have been cancelled so far as authorities scramble to restore normal operations.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) acknowledged the problem in an update on X (formerly Twitter) at 10:08 a.m., stating that technical teams are working on an urgent fix. “Flight operations at Delhi Airport are facing delays due to a technical issue in the AMSS. Efforts are underway to restore the system at the earliest,” AAI said.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which manages IGIA, also confirmed the disruption, posting at 1:42 p.m. that all flight operations were delayed as teams continued working to resolve the issue.
Sources indicated that due to the system failure, air traffic controllers were forced to process flight plans manually — a time-consuming task — leading to mounting congestion and extended waiting times at terminals.
Data from Flightradar24.com showed delays averaging 50 minutes per departure, with long queues forming at boarding gates as passengers waited for real-time updates.
The problem has also affected some airports across northern India, although Delhi remains the most severely impacted.
Authorities assured that technical experts are on-site to fully restore the AMSS and normalize air traffic operations as soon as possible.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
