Technical Malfunction Cripples Air Traffic Control
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi experienced significant operational disruptions on Friday, November 7, 2025, following a technical glitch within its Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. The malfunction, primarily affecting the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), led to widespread flight delays and cancellations, impacting air travel across North India and beyond. The issue, which had been intermittent for two days, escalated significantly around 5:45 AM on Friday.
The AMSS is a critical component that supports ATC data and the flight planning process, responsible for generating and distributing flight plans to controllers and pilots. Its failure crippled automated systems handling essential flight plans and meteorological data. As a result, air traffic controllers were forced to manually process flight plans, a time-consuming procedure that drastically slowed down operations at India's busiest airport.
Hundreds of Flights Affected, Passengers Stranded
The technical snag resulted in more than 800 domestic and international flights being delayed at Delhi Airport. Reports also indicated that approximately 20 flights were cancelled. Flight tracking data revealed average departure delays of around 50 to 55 minutes, with some flights experiencing hold-ups exceeding an hour. Between 5 AM and 2 PM alone, over 265 departing flights from IGIA were delayed.
Major airlines including IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air reported significant disruptions to their schedules. International carriers like ITA Airways and Virgin Atlantic also saw their services affected, with delays extending to several hours for some routes. Passengers faced considerable inconvenience, enduring long queues at boarding gates and extended waiting times both inside terminals and onboard aircraft.
Cascading Impact Across Regional Airspace
Given Delhi's role as a major aviation hub, the glitch had a cascading effect, causing disruptions at other airports in the region. Airports in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata also experienced delays due to the impact on incoming and connecting flights originating from Delhi. Airlines issued advisories urging passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Official Response and Ongoing Investigation
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed the technical issue in the AMSS and stated that technical teams were actively working to restore the system. Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) also acknowledged the impact on operations and confirmed coordination with all stakeholders to resolve the issue. While no official cause has been confirmed, preliminary inputs suggest a possible malware-induced overload in the automation software, prompting cybersecurity experts to review system logs for signs of tampering or external interference. Due to continued instability, authorities announced the cancellation of all departing flights scheduled after 6 PM on Friday to ensure passenger safety until full restoration.
6 Comments
Bermudez
Credit to the ATC staff for manually processing flights, which is a monumental task. However, the reliance on a single automated system clearly created a single point of failure that needs addressing.
Africa
The investigation into potential malware is crucial for future security. Yet, the immediate impact on thousands of passengers demands clearer accountability for system vulnerabilities.
ZmeeLove
It's good that safety was prioritized by cancelling flights, but for an issue that was 'intermittent for two days,' it raises questions about proactive maintenance and system resilience.
Muchacho
Impressive how controllers managed to switch to manual processing, preventing total chaos.
Coccinella
ATC systems are incredibly complex; glitches happen. They worked to fix it.
Katchuka
Better safe than sorry. Cancelling flights was the right call for passenger safety.