Chaos at Delhi airport: Air traffic control glitch hits over 800 flights

Delhi airport, the busiest in India, plunged into chaos on Friday after a technical glitch in the air traffic control (ATC) system delayed more than 800 domestic and international flights, sources said.

There were long queues near boarding gates, according to sources, and hundreds of passengers were waiting inside the airport terminals for flight updates. The glitch prevented air traffic controllers from automatically receiving flight plans.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital, one of the world’s busiest, handles over 1,500 flight movements daily. Airlines have cancelled at least 20 flights, sources said. IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air confirmed delays due to the ATC system issues.

The glitch delayed departures as well as arrivals due to congestion on the ground, according to news reports citing Flightradar24 data. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which provides air traffic control and navigation services, late Friday evening said the technical issue in the air traffic control's Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) that had caused flight delays at the Delhi airport had been addressed and that the system "up and functional now".

Sources said the ATC system faced intermittent issues over the past two days, with the technical problem significantly impacting operations from around 5:45 am on Friday.

In a separate development, airlines in the US on Friday scrambled to cut 4 per cent of flights at 40 major airports after the government imposed an unprecedented cut in air travel citing concerns around air traffic control safety because of a record-setting government shutdown. The cuts include about 700 flights from the four largest carriers — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines — and are set to rise to 6 per cent on Tuesday and then 10 per cent by November 14 if the shutdown does not end.

Earlier in the day, Delhi airport operator DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd) had said in a post on X: “All airline operations at Delhi Airport are currently delayed. Authorities concerned are working on resolving the issue at the earliest."

Shares of IndiGo closed 2 per cent lower on Friday, while SpiceJet lost 1 per cent after the airlines, along with Air India Group, warned of delays. Carriers face the prospect of higher costs from passenger care expenses and refunds due to the delays. The malfunction also hit several international airlines.

The incident follows a ransomware attack in September that disrupted operations at several major European airports, affecting automated checkin systems and flight schedules.