Delhi Airport Chaos: ATC Glitch Halts 150 Flights

Flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport were thrown into disarray on Friday after a major software malfunction in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. The glitch caused significant delays across hundreds of flights and led to severe congestion on the ground.

AMSS Glitch Disrupts Flight Operations

The issue reportedly originated from the Aeronautical Message Switching System (AMSS), which processes flight plans for all arriving, departing, and overflying aircraft in Delhi airspace. The system had been malfunctioning for the past two days, creating a cascading effect on flight schedules.

150 Flights Delayed by Morning

By 9 am, over 150 flights were delayed, with many departures held up for more than an hour. As takeoffs slowed, the shortage of parking bays also began to affect incoming flights, compounding the chaos at India’s busiest airport.

Manual Operations and Technical Intervention

Due to the overload, ATC controllers were forced to manually input flight data, increasing the risk of human error and further delays.
A technical team from the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) was deployed to restore normal operations and stabilise the system.

Airlines and Airport Issue Advisories

Airlines including IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India advised passengers to remain patient and check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Delhi Airport also issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), confirming the issue and assuring travellers that teams were working urgently to resolve the glitch.

Urgent Need for Backup Systems

The incident has once again highlighted the importance of robust backup infrastructure for air traffic management, especially in high-density airspaces like Delhi. Experts say such failures can have a nationwide ripple effect on flight operations.