Delhi IGI Airport outage: What caused the glitch

New Delhi: Delhi airport, the country’s busiest aviation hub, has been hit by a major service outage on Friday after operations of over 300 flights were

disrupted due to technical problems with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems, sources said. Both domestic and international flights have been affected. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said flight operations at Delhi airport are facing delays due to a technical issue in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which supports air traffic control data. Sources added that all airline operations at the airport have been impacted, and authorities are working to resolve the issue. Airline carriers including IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air confirmed delays in their flights at Delhi airport due to the ATC system issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tCyUuRmTmE

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the national capital’s primary airport and the busiest in the country, handles more than 1,500 flight movements daily. The state-owned AAI, which provides air traffic control and navigation services, said technical teams are working to restore the system at the earliest. In another statement, Delhi airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said in a post on X, “All airline operations at Delhi Airport are currently delayed. Concerned authorities are working on resolving the issue at the earliest.” DIAL also confirmed that flight operations have been disrupted due to an ongoing technical issue with the AMSS, which supports the air traffic control flight planning process. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH3BiFKlvh8 Long Queues at Boarding Gates at Delhi Airport Long queues were seen near boarding gates, with hundreds of passengers waiting inside the airport terminals for flight updates.

What Exact Issues Is ATC Facing to Operate Flights?

Sources said air traffic controllers have been unable to receive flight plans automatically due to the technical issues, which began on Thursday evening.

“There are issues with the AMSS, which provides information for the Auto Track System (ATS) that generates flight plans,” one of the sources said.

How ATC Is Dealing with the Service Outage at Delhi Airport

With the system issues persisting, air traffic controllers are manually preparing flight plans using available data—a time-consuming process that has led to widespread delays, sources said.

They also noted that the disruption is causing air traffic congestion at the airport, and efforts are underway to resolve the problems.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24.com showed that over 300 flights have been delayed at the airport, with the average delay for departing flights around 50 minutes.

IndiGo, in a post on X, said: “Due to an ongoing technical issue with the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) that supports Air Traffic Control data, flights across all airlines at #DelhiAirport and some other airports in the northern region are currently experiencing delays.”

With inputs from PTI