Longer wait times, flight delays: Delhi airport ATC hit by technical snag; airlines issue advisory

NEW DELHI: Flights are facing serious delays at Delhi Airport on Friday due to a software issue in the air traffic control (ATC). Sources say the “Aeronautical Message Switching System” (AMSS) has been facing an issue for at leats the last two days that has slowed down flight movements and now delays have got “stacked up”. By 9 am Friday, over 150 flights had been affected.Departures have been delayed by well over hour. With planes not able to take off in time, the airport will soon not have place for parking arriving aircraft that will affect arrivals too.

Massive ATC System Breakdown At Delhi Airport Disrupts Flights; Airlines Urge Patience And Care

Also read- Delhi airport flight chaos: Easterlies, VIP movement & GPS spoofing trigger air traffic congestionDelhi Airport issued a “passenger advisory’ on X Friday morning: “Due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, flight operations at IGIA are experiencing delays. Their team is actively working 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.”The AMSS software processes flight plans submitted by airlines not just for arrivals and departures to and from IGIA, but also for aircraft overflying Delhi airspace. Flight plans of overflying aircraft are also required to know where a plane is coming from and where is it headed, “The system got over-loaded,” said sources.Also read- 1st ever ‘spoofing’ scare at Delhi airport: Pilots misled by fake GPS signals, forced to divert flightsWith the software either facing a glitch or the server crashing, this information is being fed manually into the system. IGIA these days handles about 1,550 flights daily and hundreds overfly in the Delhi airspace and the manual workload — which is also immune to errors — can be imagined on the overworked controllers. A team from Electronics Corporation of India Ltd, Hyderabad, has been trying to fix the system for last two days, said sources.Meanwhile, SpiceJet alerted passengers about possible delays and disruptions in flight operations from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, citing heavy congestion at Air Traffic Control (ATC).Taking to X, the airline in a statement said, “Due to ATC (Air Traffic Control) congestion at Delhi, all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights might get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status.”IndiGo, in a passenger advisory, said flights were experiencing extended wait times both on the ground and onboard as the technical issue affected departures and arrivals.“Our crew and ground teams are actively assisting and doing their best to make your wait as smooth as possible,” the airline said, urging passengers to check flight status on its website for the latest updates.Also read- Explained: What is GPS spoofing and how it disrupted Delhi flightsAir India, in an official statement, said: “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. We regret the inconvenience caused by this unforeseen disruption, which is beyond our control, and appreciate your patience.”“Our cabin crew and on-ground staff at the airport are extending immediate assistance to reduce passenger inconvenience,” the airline added.