NEW DELHI — Flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were severely disrupted on Friday morning after a major technical snag hit the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, affecting more than 400 flights.
According to officials, the issue originated from a malfunction in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) — a key component responsible for transmitting flight plan data to the Auto Track System (ATS). With the system down, air traffic controllers were forced to process flight plans manually, leading to significant congestion and delays in both departures and arrivals.
In an official statement, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed the disruption, saying:
“Flight operations at Delhi Airport are experiencing delays due to a technical issue in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which supports Air Traffic Control data. Controllers are currently processing flight plans manually. Technical teams are working to restore the system at the earliest. We appreciate the patience and cooperation of passengers and stakeholders.”
Delhi’s IGIA, the country’s busiest airport, handles more than 1,500 flight movements daily. Data from the flight-tracking portal Flightradar24 showed that 513 flights were delayed on Thursday, while Friday witnessed 313 delayed departures and 118 delayed arrivals by mid-day. Departure delays during morning hours reportedly extended up to 53 minutes and were rising as the day progressed.
Officials familiar with the situation said the problem began around 3 p.m. on Thursday, disrupting the automatic transmission of flight plans to ATC screens. “Controllers have been forced to prepare flight plans manually using available data, which has slowed operations and caused significant congestion,” one official said.
Another official described the glitch as “rare and unprecedented,” adding, “Each task before a flight departure is being handled manually, creating chaos at the Delhi ATC. The issue is being worked on, but delays are expected to persist until it’s resolved.”
IndiGo Airlines also issued a travel advisory on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating:
“#6ETravelAdvisory: Flight operations at #DelhiAirport are currently experiencing delays due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control.”
Technical teams from AAI and the airport operator are continuing efforts to restore full functionality of the AMSS system and normalise operations at the earliest.
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