Technical snag in ATC system causes chaos, hits flight schedules
New Delhi: Massive flight disruptions brought chaos to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Friday morning. A significant technical glitch in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system triggered a severe Delhi airport delay, affecting more than 100 flights and leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
The problem, which reportedly began on Thursday evening, escalated by Friday, crippling the automated flight planning system. Sources indicated the issue lies with the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS). This system is crucial as it feeds data to the Auto Track System (ATS), which controllers use to manage flight plans.
With the high-tech system down, air traffic controllers were forced to revert to manual methods. They had to prepare flight plans by hand, a "slow and cumbersome" process that quickly led to airspace congestion around India’s busiest airport.
IGIA, which handles over 1,500 flight movements daily, saw an immediate cascading effect from the Delhi ATC glitch. By 9 am, flight tracking websites showed average departure delays climbing to nearly 50 minutes.
Passengers faced long queues, extended waits inside aircraft, and confusion. Many took to social-media to express their frustration over the lack of clear updates.
Major airlines, including IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India, issued travel advisories. They alerted passengers to expect delays and disruptions, noting the situation was beyond their control. This flight schedule update is critical for travellers nationwide, including Odisha passengers connecting to or from Bhubaneswar to Delhi flights.
A spokesperson for Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) confirmed the technical issue and said teams were working with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to restore normal operations. Officials warned it could take hours to clear the backlog, with ripple delays expected at airports in Jaipur, Lucknow, and Chandigarh.
