Delhi Airport Operations Return to Normal After Major ATC Glitch
Flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport have fully normalized, officials confirmed on Saturday, following a massive technical failure in the Air Traffic Control system that disrupted hundreds of flights for over 15 hours.
Key Takeaways
- Delhi Airport flight operations return to normal after 15+ hour ATC system failure
- Over 800 flights delayed, several cancelled during Friday’s peak disruption
- Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) restored after manual processing backup
System Restoration Confirmed
The Airports Authority of India announced around 9 pm Friday that the technical issue with the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) had been resolved. This critical system aids air traffic controllers in flight planning operations.
Delhi Airport confirmed the normalization on social media platform X, stating: “All flights operations are normal at Delhi Airport. Wishing all our passengers a smooth and pleasant journey ahead! Passengers are advised to stay in touch with their respective airlines for the latest flight updates.”
Massive Disruption Impact
The technical glitch, which began affecting the IP-based AMSS system on November 6, caused significant operational challenges at one of the world’s busiest airports. On Friday alone, more than 800 flights experienced delays with several cancellations, affecting hundreds of passengers.
Even on Saturday morning, flight tracking data showed over 200 arrival and departure delays as the airport worked through residual backlogs.
Manual Operations Deployed
During the system outage that began around 5:45 am Friday, air traffic controllers were forced to prepare flight plans manually—a time-consuming procedure that significantly slowed operations.
The AAI deployed additional personnel to manually process flight plans to maintain safe air traffic operations. The authority engaged the Original Equipment Manufacturer and maintained a team of ECIL officials and AAI personnel on site throughout the resolution process.
In their official statement, the AAI noted: “OEM was engaged, and additional staff were deployed to manually process Flight Plans for the Air Traffic Control system to ensure uninterrupted and safe air traffic operations immediately. A team of ECIL officials and AAI personnel is still on site. The AMSS systems are up and functional now. Due to some backlogs, there may be some delays in the normal functioning of automated operations, but the situation will be normal soon.”
