Over 300 flights delayed as technical snag triggers chaos at Delhi's IGI Airport - Here's what we know so far

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, one of the busiest airports worldwide, witnessed chaos on Friday, i.e., November 7, as a glitch in the AMSS system caused over 300 flight delays. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Airport also issued an official statement, informing the passengers that its air traffic was impacted due to the malfunction. 

The glitch occurred in the AMSS system, prompting the Air Traffic Control (ATC) to ditch automation and switch to manual procedures. With airlines issuing rolling advisories, passengers were asked to check revised schedules and adjust their commute time accordingly. 

Indira Gandhi International Airport typically manages about 1,500 aircraft movements per day with peak rates near 60-70 per hour. 

Scale of disruption- How many flights were impacted?

According to a report by news agency PTI, over 100 flights were impacted due to the technical glitch, with passengers waiting for longer times than usual. Meanwhile, the airport officials have assured paasengers that resolution efforts are underway. 

What caused the glitch?

The problem stemmed from the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which is responsible for tranferring the flight plan data to the air traffic controllers' screens, which malfunctioned. This caused the authorities to enter each data manually, which resulted in the delay.