New Delhi, India: More than 800 flights were delayed at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) after a technical failure disrupted air traffic control systems on Friday, causing widespread operational chaos at one of the world’s busiest airports.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed that a malfunction occurred in the airport’s Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) , a critical platform that generates and distributes flight plans to controllers and pilots. The failure forced the ATC to manually process flight plans, drastically slowing departures through Friday.
“The system developed a technical issue late Thursday evening, leading to temporary delays in flight departures,” the AAI said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). “Technical teams are working to restore the system at the earliest.”
According to flight-tracking platform Flightradar24, over 800 flights experienced delays, with more than 175 departures affected on Friday morning alone. The average delay was around 55 minutes, but several international routes were held back much longer.
Domestic carriers, including IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India, reported schedule disruptions. IndiGo’s shares dropped 1.5 % in response.
An ITA Airways flight to Rome was delayed by nearly two hours, while a Virgin Atlantic service to London took off more than an hour behind schedule.
While the AAI has not confirmed the root cause, officials said preliminary checks are underway to determine whether the issue was linked to a possible malware intrusion. A senior aviation ministry source told Reuters that “cybersecurity experts are reviewing the system logs for any signs of tampering or external interference.”
Delhi’s IGIA, managed by GMR Airports Limited and overseen by the AAI, handled 78 million passengers in 2024, ranking as the ninth-busiest airport globally according to Airports Council International.
AAI technicians and software vendors were still working late Friday to fully restore the AMSS. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been briefed and is monitoring the situation for compliance and safety implications.
No cancellations were officially reported, but passengers experienced long queues, rescheduling, and confusion as airlines adjusted flight plans.
