New Delhi— Operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport were thrown into disarray on Friday after a major technical glitch disrupted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) systems, delaying more than 400 domestic and international flights.
According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, at least 313 departing and 118 arriving flights were delayed, affecting major carriers including IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air. The disruption led to long queues and overcrowded terminals as passengers waited for updates.
Officials said the problem stemmed from a malfunction in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) — a crucial part of the ATC flight planning process. The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) confirmed that flight operations were impacted but assured that engineers were working to fix the issue urgently.
“All airline operations at Delhi Airport are currently delayed. Concerned authorities are working on resolving the issue at the earliest. Passengers are requested to follow updates from their airlines,” DIAL said in a statement.
A senior IT ministry official confirmed that the glitch occurred during a scheduled software upgrade of the ATC system and ruled out any possibility of a cyberattack. “There is supposed to be an automatic updation of flight plans, which stopped functioning. It is not a cyberattack,” the official said.
Due to the malfunction, air traffic controllers were forced to manually process flight plans, significantly slowing down operations. Aviation expert Captain Sharath Panicker told ANI that the glitch also disrupted the Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS), which compiles real-time meteorological data from stations across the country.
Sources told PTI that hundreds of passengers were stranded inside terminals, with long queues forming at boarding gates and check-in counters. Airlines have issued advisories asking passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport, one of the busiest in Asia, handles over 1,500 flight movements daily. Authorities have not yet confirmed when normal operations are expected to resume.
