Over 800 Flights Delayed at Delhi’s IGI Airport After ATC System Glitch

A major technical failure in the air-traffic system at Indira Gandhi International Airport triggered chaos, stranding passengers and forcing airlines into schedule disruptions.

More than 800 flights were delayed at Delhi’s IGIA airport after a malfunction in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), according to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and multiple airline sources. Airlines are adjusting schedules as back-logs clear and full normalisation is expected within hours.

New Delhi, India (Star Struck Times) — Air travel at India’s busiest hub came to a stand-still on Friday when the air-traffic control messaging system at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi suffered a technical failure that delayed more than 800 flights and cancelled at least 20, according to official and media reports.

The glitch began late Thursday in the airport’s Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS) — a vital link that processes and dispatches flight-planning data to air-traffic controllers. With the system out of service, controllers were forced to process flight plans manually, leading to a cascading backlog of delays across the network.

By early Friday, airlines including IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet issued advisories warning passengers of schedule disruptions. IndiGo stated operations were being stabilised and asked travellers to allow additional time and check flight status before heading to the airport.

One passenger waiting in the terminal described the scene: “We were told the system is down and there will be delays — the boarding gate queue kept moving backward as flight after flight was pushed back by 45-50 minutes.” Others posted photos of idle aircraft on the taxiway and long lines of frustrated travellers.

Industry analysts noted the ripple effect: although the failure was isolated to IGIA’s messaging system, it affected departures, arrivals and transfer flights across northern India, including hubs in Mumbai, Jaipur and elsewhere. The interconnected nature of airlines’ schedules magnified the disruption.

The Airports Authority of India later issued an update saying the AMSS system was “up and functional” late Friday evening, though some delays may persist as the backlog clears and automated operations fully resume.

A senior AAI official stated: “We detected the issue in the messaging system on 6 November, engaged the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and deployed additional staff to manually process flight-plans until the system stabilised.” The official added that normalisation was expected within hours, but residual delays would be inevitable.

For many travellers, the day turned into a test of patience. One commuter tweeted: “I arrived at IGIA two hours early but still missed my connection because the take-off slot kept shifting.” Airports analysts warn that such infrastructure disruptions expose vulnerabilities in air-traffic systems that rely heavily on automation.

Aviation expert Captain Sharath Panicker explained: “When the AMSS fails, flight-plan entries must be done manually — a process that is four times slower than automation. That slows take-offs, arrivals, gate assignments and then domino-effects travel onward.”

As operations resume, airlines and airport authorities are urging passengers to check latest status updates, expect adjusted departure or arrival times, and plan extra transit and connection time. The AAI and airlines committed to carrying out a full review of the failure and carrying any lessons into future system-resilience planning.

What passengers should know:

• Check your flight status online or via your airline’s app — delays are still likely.
• Arrive early and allow extra time for check-in and security.
• Expect connections to be impacted, particularly through IGIA.
• Keep an eye on airline advisories, they may shift arrival/departure slots.

FAQs

Q: What caused the flight delays at IGIA?
A: A technical fault in the AMSS, which feeds key flight plan data to air-traffic controllers, triggered manual processing and resulted in more than 800 flights being delayed.
Q: How many flights were affected?
A: Over 800 flights were delayed and at least 20 cancelled at IGIA on 7 Nov 2025.
Q: Are flight operations back to normal now?
A: The system is reported as restored, but airlines caution that delays may persist until the backlog clears.

Stay updated, check your flight, and offer patience — delays may continue as the system recovers.