Delhi airport warns of fresh chaos as flights face delays after yet another tech snag

Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on Wednesday (Dec 3) shared a notice alerting passengers travelling via domestic local flights to expect delays or last-minute schedule shifts due to operational problems. The airport said its on-ground teams are working with all stakeholders to manage the situation, and urged travellers to check directly with their airlines for the latest updates.

Glitch after glitch

The alert follows a disruption at Air India just a day earlier. On December 2, the airline asked passengers to verify their flight status before heading to the airport after a third-party system failure hit check-in counters at multiple airports. The glitch slowed operations and delayed flights across several carriers. By late Tuesday, Air India said the fault had been fixed. On X, it said, "The third-party system has been fully restored, and check-in at all airports is functioning normally. All our flights are operating as per schedule. We thank our passengers for their understanding."

Earlier, the airline had warned that while the system was being restored in stages, some flights could still run late "until the situation fully normalises". It also advised passengers to reach the airport earlier than usual to account for possible delays.

Second technical snag in two months

This is the second major technical snag at Delhi airport in recent weeks. Last month, more than 400 domestic and international flights were delayed after a malfunction in the Automatic Message Switching System, which handles critical data for air traffic operations. The breakdown forced air traffic controllers to prepare flight plans manually, slowing the entire network. The disruption hit major carriers such as Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet, and led to heavy queues across terminals. Officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Airports Authority of India held an emergency review meeting at the time and issued necessary directions to address the issue.