Delhi Airport Chaos After Major ATC System Failure
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport faced severe disruptions after a critical air traffic control system failed, affecting nearly 1,000 flights and causing delays of up to 12 hours. The Airports Authority of India restored the system after about 30 hours, but manual operations led to cascading delays across India. Airlines and authorities coordinated to manage the crisis, while experts questioned the lack of backup systems.
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport was thrown into chaos when the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), a vital component of air traffic control, malfunctioned. The failure began Thursday afternoon but escalated by Friday morning, forcing controllers to manually process flight plans. This led to delays of up to 12 hours for thousands of passengers, with nearly 1,000 flights affected. The Airports Authority of India restored the system late Friday, but warned of lingering delays. Airlines including IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet were impacted, and the crisis rippled to other major Indian airports. Authorities held emergency meetings and coordinated with airlines to manage the situation. Experts expressed concern over the lack of effective backup systems and questioned why a new, more secure system had not yet been implemented. The incident was not linked to GPS spoofing or cyberattacks, but raised broader concerns about India's aviation infrastructure resilience.
