What was the problem?
On Thursday evening, Delhi Airport’s Air Traffic Control (ATC) system experienced a technical glitch. The problem occurred in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), a crucial component of flight planning. Due to this system failure, flight messages and data were not automatically transmitted to the control tower. As a result, airlines had to manually create flight plans.
The outage caused
chaos at Delhi airport from Thursday night to Friday. Around 500 flights were delayed Thursday night and 800 on Friday. Passengers on many flights were left waiting on board for long periods. On average, departures were delayed by 45 minutes to an hour, while arriving flights were also affected due to limited parking bays and increased congestion at the airfield.
Officials’ clarification on the technical glitch
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) stated that it was a technical issue, but it did not impact the safety of any flight. Planes that were in the air reached their destinations normally. The problem was only with pre-flight messaging and the planning process.
The Air Traffic Controllers Guild of India had warned
that the glitch at Delhi Airport could have been avoided if the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had upgraded its systems in time. In fact, the Air Traffic Controllers Guild of India had warned in July that “the current system, especially at major airports like Delhi and Mumbai, is suffering from slowdowns and technical glitches, which are impacting operational efficiency and safety.
On Saturday morning, Delhi Airport issued a statement saying, “The technical issue with the AMSS is now being resolved. Airline operations are returning to normal, and all officials are working diligently to minimize inconvenience to passengers. Passengers are urged to stay in touch with the airline for the latest flight information.” IndiGo Airlines also said, “The temporary technical glitch in the ATC system has now been resolved, and operations are gradually returning to normal. The situation will return to normal within the next few hours. Until then, some changes in flight timings may remain.”
