What Is ATC System & What Crippled Services At Delhi Airport | Here's What We Know So Far

Flight operations at India's busiest Airport, Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi, descended into chaos and panic on Friday after a significant technical glitch crippled the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. The issue, which began late on Thursday and escalated through the Friday morning peak hours, caused widespread delays for over 100 flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. 

The authorities are investigating whether the failure was caused by the automation software used to manage air traffic. According to reports, the software may have been overwhelmed, possibly by a malware attack trying to overload the system. Investigators are checking if the attack specifically targeted the system interfaces or the radar synchronisation parts of the ATC. A major concern is that the system was missing crucial updates and lacked a real-time backup.

What is the ATC System & What Failed?

Air traffic control (ATC) refers to a ground-based service in which controllers manage and guide the movement of aircraft both on the ground and within controlled airspace. The system is the crucial infrastructure responsible for guiding and managing all aircraft movements, preventing collisions, controlling flight paths, and managing take-offs and landings.

The core of the problem has been traced to a malfunction in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS). The AMSS is a crucial communication network that automatically feeds essential flight plan and routing data to the Auto Track System (ATS), which controllers use to manage air traffic. When the AMSS failed, air traffic controllers lost their ability to automatically generate and receive flight plans on their screens.

Reverting To Manual Operations

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed the technical issue, stating that technical teams are working to restore the AMSS system at the earliest. While officials have been working to clear the backlog, they warned that it could take several hours for operations to return to complete normal, emphasizing the excessive reliance of modern aviation on automated systems, depending on the IT infrastructure.

With the high-tech automated system down, air traffic controllers were forced to revert to manual processing of flight plans. This process is significantly slower and more unmanageable, drastically reducing the number of flights that can be handled per hour at an airport that typically manages over 1,500 flight movements daily.

Flight tracking data showed average departure delays climbing to around 50 minutes to an hour by mid-morning, with dozens of flights backed up at the gates. The congestion was not limited to Delhi, as the glitch caused a ripple effect across several northern regional airports, including Jaipur and Lucknow.

Advisories

Airlines, including IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet, issued advisories alerting passengers about possible delays following disruptions in flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital. They confirmed that the ATC system issue was impacting operations across all carriers and warned passengers of extended wait times and long queues. The passengers were advised to check flight status updates before leaving for the airport. The airlines assured that their staff are assisting passengers to minimise inconvenience. 

Also Read: 42 Flights On Ground As ATC Snag Persists At Delhi Airport