Hundreds of flights were delayed at Delhi airport, one of the busiest in the world, after a technical issue with an air traffic control messaging system on Thursday evening, according to India's airport authority and a source familiar with the situation.
The malfunction, which caused average delays of an hour for departures, had the potential to create further disruptions and lead to congestion at other airports across India. Arrival delays also increased due to the growing backlog on the ground, as indicated by Flightradar24 data.
Shares of IndiGo fell by 2% on Friday, while SpiceJet dropped by 1%, as the airlines, alongside the Air India Group, warned of continued delays. The airlines are expected to incur additional costs from passenger care and refunds due to the delays, which are likely to extend into Saturday.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) explained that the issue stemmed from the Automatic Message Switching System, which generates flight plans. The malfunction forced controllers to manually create flight plans, resulting in the delays.
The problem began on Thursday evening local time, the source added.
"Technical teams are working to restore the system as soon as possible," the AAI stated in a post on X. The agency did not provide further details about the cause of the malfunction.
Some airlines, including Air India Express, have assigned their own personnel to assist air traffic control in manually generating flight plans, another source said.
CNN NEWS 18 reported that authorities were investigating whether computer malware might have caused the issue, although Reuters could not independently confirm this claim.
This incident follows a ransomware attack in September that disrupted automated check-in systems at some of Europe's largest airports, leading to flight delays.
The technical issue in India caused approximately 25 flight departures to be delayed on Thursday, and over 175 on Friday at Delhi airport, the first source said. Delhi airport typically handles 60-70 aircraft movements per hour. Flightradar24 data showed that average departure delays were around 60 minutes.
The glitch also affected several international flights, with an ITA Airways flight to Rome delayed by nearly two hours and a Virgin Atlantic flight to London delayed by more than an hour. The AAI has not provided an estimated time for when the issue will be resolved, according to two airline sources.
Delhi airport, which handled around 78 million passengers in 2024, is the ninth busiest airport in the world, according to Airports Council International. The airport operator is majority-owned by GMR Airports, while air traffic control is managed by the AAI.
The families of 32 Kenyans who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 disaster are set to receive a com...
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) has ruled that India remains bound by the Indus Waters Treaty and must...
Volkswagen is heading towards a decisive showdown with labour representatives as Germany's largest carmaker...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, as leaders gather for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
Russia views NATO’s growing military activity in the Arctic as a direct threat to its national security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
As leaders from across Eurasia gather in Kyrgyzstan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the meeting is bringing together countries with very different interests, from China and Russia to India, Iran and Azerbaijan.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday there were signs that Russian and Israeli networks helped spread disinformation about Spain’s migration policy, contributing to last month’s unprecedented surge of migrants into Ceuta.
A gathering of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, North Carolina, was dominated by sharp disagreements over Russia's presence, as the world's leading economies face mounting geopolitical and economic pressures.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance has blamed the administration of former President Joe Biden for ammunition shortages within the U.S. military, arguing that years of insufficient defence spending left the armed forces under-resourced.
The death toll from last week's catastrophic floods in Nepal and Tibet rose to 939 on Monday, with 3,044 people still missing, as fresh rainfall pushed up river levels and forced rescuers to move to higher ground.
Recovery teams are continuing operations in Grand Canyon National Park after flash floods swept through parts of the canyon over the weekend, leaving one person dead and leading to the discovery of a second body that has yet to be recovered.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment