Air travel at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) was thrown into disarray on Friday morning after a technical glitch in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system caused widespread flight delays. More than 100 flights were affected, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and prompting airlines to issue urgent advisories.
The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) confirmed that the disruption stemmed from a malfunction in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which feeds critical flight plan data to the Auto Track System (ATS) used by air traffic controllers. The issue, which reportedly began on Thursday evening, has prevented automatic transmission of flight plans, forcing controllers to prepare flight details manually — a process described as “slow and cumbersome” by officials.
In an official statement, the Delhi Airport authority said, “Due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, flight operations at IGIA are experiencing delays. Our team is actively coordinating with all stakeholders, including DIAL, to resolve it at the earliest. Passengers are advised to stay in touch with their respective airlines for the latest flight updates. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused.”
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, departures from Delhi airport were facing average delays of around 50 minutes as of Friday morning. With over 1,500 flight movements daily, IGIA is India’s busiest airport, and even a minor technical fault can significantly disrupt air operations across the country.
Several major carriers, including Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet, issued separate advisories to passengers acknowledging the impact.
Air India stated, “A technical issue with the ATC system in Delhi is impacting flight operations across all airlines, leading to delays and longer wait times at the airport and onboard aircraft.”
IndiGo also confirmed disruptions, noting, “Flight operations at Delhi Airport are currently experiencing delays due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. Operations at Delhi and several northern regions are impacted.”
SpiceJet informed passengers, “Due to ATC congestion at Delhi, all departures, arrivals, and their consequential flights might get affected.”
