Nagpur: Air travel across India was severely disrupted on Friday after a major technical glitch crippled the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, leading to widespread flight delays. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur was among the worst affected, with passengers to and from Delhi, Mumbai, and other key destinations stranded for hours.
According to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the snag occurred in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), the software that transmits crucial flight planning data to ATC. The malfunction forced controllers to manually process flight plans, triggering a cascading effect on operations not only at Delhi but also at several other airports including Nagpur, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Jaipur.
Nagpur flights delayed by up to three hours
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Several flights at Nagpur airport experienced significant delays through the day. The Delhi–Nagpur flight (IndiGo 6E 6529), scheduled to depart at 4:00 pm, finally took off at 6:12 pm and arrived in Nagpur at 7:30 pm, recording a delay of nearly 2 hours and 36 minutes.
The return flight IndiGo 6E 6530 at 9:15 pm was delayed by over two hours, while another Delhi-bound flight 6E 6529 at 6:45 pm also arrived 2 hours and 36 minutes late.
Flights from Mumbai, Indore, and Ahmedabad to Nagpur were similarly affected.
The Mumbai–Nagpur flight 6E 6235 reached three hours late, while flight 6E 686 from Mumbai was delayed by around two hours.
The Indore–Nagpur flight scheduled at 5:10 pm landed nearly three hours late, and the Ahmedabad–Nagpur service at 7:00 pm arrived 3 hours and 40 minutes behind schedule.
Hundreds of passengers were seen waiting at Nagpur airport as airlines issued repeated updates about delays. Many travellers complained of lack of timely information and inadequate seating arrangements in the waiting areas.
Delhi Airport restores normal operations
By Saturday morning, authorities at Delhi’s IGI Airport confirmed that flight operations had returned to normal.
In an advisory issued at 11:55 am, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) stated, “Airline operations at Delhi Airport are returning to normal, and all concerned authorities are working diligently to minimise any inconvenience caused. Passengers are advised to stay in touch with their airlines for the latest flight updates.”
Officials said more than 800 flights across India were delayed and several others cancelled during the disruption.
Technical review underway
A senior AAI official said that a detailed technical review is being conducted to identify the root cause of the AMSS failure and ensure safeguards to prevent recurrence. “This was an unprecedented systems issue, and manual coordination was immediately activated to ensure flight safety,” the official added.
Friday’s chaos highlighted the heavy dependence of India’s expanding aviation network on centralised systems and the urgent need for robust backup mechanisms.
