Flight schedules at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) faced significant disruptions on Friday due to a technical malfunction within the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. This issue, which began impacting operations on Thursday evening, led to over 100 flight delays. Air traffic controllers are currently resorting to manual flight plan preparations, a process that is considerably more time-consuming than the automated systems. This manual approach is the primary reason for the extensive delays affecting departures and arrivals. The airport authorities have issued an advisory urging passengers to stay informed about their flight status through their respective airlines. Major carriers like Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet have also released statements confirming the delays and advising passengers of potential longer wait times at the airport and onboard. The affected system is reportedly the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which is crucial for the Auto Track System (AMS) that generates flight plans. This technical snag is causing ripple effects across northern India, impacting flight operations in several regions. Passengers are strongly advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport to avoid further inconvenience.
