New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) After flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) experienced major disruptions on Friday due to a technical fault in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, Airports Authority of India (AAI) said it has successfully addressed the technical issue in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS).

The Airports Authority of India said in a late night statement on Friday that it “deeply regrets” any inconvenience caused to airlines and passengers and reaffirms its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of operational safety, reliability and service excellence across the nation’s air traffic management network.

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, upon detection of the issue in the IP-based AMSS system, an urgent review meeting was convened and immediate directions were issued to identify and rectify the root cause of the problem.

Also, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) was engaged and additional manpower was deployed to manually process flight plans, ensuring continuity and safety of Air Traffic Control operations without disruption.

A dedicated team comprising officials from Electronics Corporation of India Limited and AAI continues to remain on-site to oversee system stability and performance.

“The AMSS has now been restored to normal functionality. While minor delays in automated processes may persist due to backlogged data, the system is stabilising and full normalcy is expected shortly,” said the ministry.

Earlier, Delhi Airport took to X to issue a passenger advisory, stating: “Due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, flight operations at IGIA are experiencing delays. Their team is actively working with all stakeholders, including DIAL, to resolve it at the earliest. Passengers are advised to stay in touch with their respective airlines for the latest flight updates. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused.”

Passengers reported delays, with extended waiting times both at the airport and onboard aircraft. A passenger onboard one of the delayed flights informed IANS that the crew requested patience from travellers while the technical issue was being resolved.

—IANS

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