Delhi Airport Chaos: Over 300 Flights Hit Due to Air Traffic Control Glitch ✈️

What Happened

On the morning of November 7, 2025, Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi — India’s busiest airport — saw massive disruption as a critical technical glitch hit its air-traffic control (ATC) system. The problem originated in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which automatically transmits flight-plan data to ATC controllers. With AMSS down, controllers had to manually compile flight plans — a time-consuming process unsuited for the volume of flights IGIA handles daily. 

Consequently, more than 300 flights were delayed (some reports put the number even higher) across multiple airlines, affecting both departures and arrivals. 

Scale & Impact

• IGIA handles roughly 1,500 flight movements daily, making this one of the most significant disruptions in recent times.
• Flight-tracking data showed that many departures were delayed by 45–60 minutes on average.
• The glitch produced a ripple effect across other airports, causing delays beyond Delhi — especially to flights scheduled to land at or depart from IGIA.
• Airlines affected included major carriers such as IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and Akasa Air. All issued advisories urging passengers to check flight status before heading to the airport.
• Inside the airport, passengers complained of long queues, confusion, and lack of timely updates, while some flights faced onboard delays even after takeoff. 

Why the System Failure Was So Disruptive

• The AMSS is the backbone of the airport’s flight-plan communication — sending crucial data (routes, altitudes, clearances) from airlines to ATC controllers. Once it failed, nothing flowed automatically.
• Manual processing of flight plans is much slower — each flight needs individual attention, significantly reducing throughput at a hub built to handle high volume.
• This slowdown resulted in airspace congestion, with flights queuing for clearance to take off or land — compounding delay times. 

Responses from Authorities & Airlines

• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) acknowledged the failure and said technical teams — including the original equipment manufacturer — were working to restore the system.
• According to official statements, the AMSS was restored by late Friday evening, and automated operations gradually resumed.
• Amid pressure, the Air Traffic Controllers' Guild (India) termed the event “a reflection of deeper systemic issues in India’s air-traffic infrastructure” — saying the glitch wasn’t just an isolated error but indicative of broader lapses in system maintenance and updates. 

The Fallout: For Passengers & Aviation

• Hundreds — possibly thousands — of travellers were stranded or faced long delays, with onward connections and holiday plans thrown off.
• The disruption raised concerns about redundancy and backup protocols at major airports. When an automated backbone fails, manual fallback systems appear to be inadequate for a hub of this scale.
• The aviation community is likely to press for more robust infrastructure — not just patch-ups but modernization, maintenance, and possibly alternative systems to prevent total collapse during a technical failure.

What’s Next: Lessons & What to Watch

1. The incident underscores the urgency for upgrading, auditing, and maintaining ATC infrastructure regularly — to prevent risk to safety and passenger convenience.
2. Redundancy plans — such as backup systems or contingency protocols — should be reviewed to ensure manual fallback isn’t overwhelmed.
3. For passengers: Always check flight status before travelling, especially out of major hubs, and allow extra buffer time during such system-glitch events.
4. Oversight bodies and airlines may need to re-evaluate internal communication and maintenance schedules to avoid recurrence.