Why 800 Flights Get Delayed At Delhi Airport!

Flight operations at Delhi International Airport were badly hit on Friday after a major technical problem disrupted air traffic control systems. Over 800 flights were delayed, leaving thousands of passengers waiting for hours at the airport.

Officials said the issue started when the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), a key part of the Air Traffic Control (ATC), suddenly stopped working. The system handles flight plan data that helps controllers track aircraft. Once it failed, ATC teams had to manage everything manually, which caused major slowdowns in takeoffs and landings.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said engineers and technical experts worked non-stop to fix the problem with help from the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). The system was finally restored by late evening, and flight operations slowly started returning to normal.

However, even after the fix, delays continued for several hours as the backlog of flights was cleared. The issue also affected airports in Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, and Amritsar, where many flights were delayed.

Passengers reported confusion and long queues at the terminals. Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet issued alerts, asking travelers to check for delays before coming to the airport.

Experts said the problem also affected the Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS), which provides pilots with runway and weather updates. Because of this, controllers had to enter data manually, causing more delays in flight clearances.

By Friday night, the situation started to improve, though some delays were expected to continue into the weekend. The AAI said it will conduct a detailed review to prevent such issues in the future.