Delhi Airport Gradually Recovers from ATC Technical Issues

Operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, one of India's busiest hubs, are slowly returning to normal following a substantial technical issue with its Air Traffic Control (ATC) system that lasted nearly 36 hours.

Flight tracking service Flightradar24 indicates that on Saturday, approximately 129 flights (53 arrivals and 76 departures) experienced delays, which is a remarkable improvement from nearly 800 disruptions noted on Friday. Currently, the average delay is five minutes for incoming flights and 19 minutes for outgoing ones.

In an official statement, Delhi Airport authorities advised that the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) malfunction affecting ATC operations is being resolved.

“Operations are stabilizing at Delhi Airport, and all relevant authorities are actively working to reduce any inconvenience suffered by passengers. We recommend that travelers stay updated by checking their airline’s latest flight information,” the airport stated this morning.

Airlines Begin Recovery Process

IndiGo Airlines, heavily impacted by the outage, confirmed that their operations are “gradually being restored.”

“The AMSS outage affecting Air Traffic Control has been resolved, leading to the gradual restoration of flight operations not just at Delhi Airport but also at other airports in the northern region. While operations normalize, some delays and crowding at terminals may persist for a short time,” IndiGo shared.

The airline emphasized that they anticipate a full return to normalcy within the next few hours, advising passengers to check for live updates before heading to the airport.

Passenger Disruption and Delays

This technical failure began on Thursday evening, resulting in chaos at Delhi Airport, where over 500 flights were delayed, followed by nearly 800 delays on Friday.

Departure delays ranged from 45 minutes to an hour, affecting numerous arrivals due to limited space on the ground and congestion in the airspace.

Countless passengers found themselves stranded in terminals for hours, witnessing constant delays on departure boards, while some were kept waiting on aircraft before take-off.

AAI Reassures: Flight Safety Remains Intact

Sources reported that the issue began when ATC personnel found missing flight plan data on their screens, which was later linked to a breakdown in the AMSS that halted the automatic flow of messages. As a result, controllers had to manually process flight plans when the system failed to send data to the auto track network.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) clarified that although there was significant disruption, the safety of flights was never in jeopardy.

“There was no effect on flights already airborne. The disruption was strictly associated with pre-departure messaging and processing of flight plans,” noted the AAI.