Delhi Airport chaos: Over 800 flights delayed due to major ATC glitch

New Delhi: Operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, the country’s busiest air hub, were thrown into disarray on Friday after technical glitches in the air traffic control (ATC) system caused massive delays to more than 800 domestic and international flights.

According to sources, the disruptions began around 5.45 am due to issues in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which is critical for transmitting air traffic data. The problem worsened throughout the day, forcing air traffic controllers to prepare flight plans manually—a process that significantly slowed operations.

Airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air, reported widespread delays. Around 20 flights were cancelled as airport authorities and technical teams from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) worked to restore the system. The AAI confirmed on X that the technical failure in the AMSS was causing flight delays at Delhi airport and some other airports in northern India.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the airport’s operator, said all airline operations were affected and efforts were underway to resolve the issues urgently. By Friday afternoon, flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed over 800 delayed flights, with average departure delays of around 50 minutes.

Inside the terminals, passengers faced long queues at boarding gates and waited for updates as congestion mounted. Sources said the technical snag disrupted automatic flight plan retrieval and the auto-track system used by controllers, compounding the delays. Authorities continued to work through the day to stabilise flight operations and ease traffic at the crowded airport.