Naidu directs root cause analysis of Delhi airport's ATC glitch; calls for tech advancements

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu has directed officials to carry out a detailed root-cause analysis of the technical glitch at the Delhi airport's air traffic control system and to put in place backup servers to boost operations.

The technical problem with the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which supports the air traffic control's flight planning process, resulted in delays of more than 800 flights and cancellation of 46 flights on Friday at the Delhi airport, which is the country's busiest airport.

''Owing to the coordinated efforts of ECIL engineers, ATC (Air Traffic Control) personnel, and the ministry's proactive monitoring, the system was fully restored to automatic mode by the afternoon of November 8.

There were no flight cancellations today owing to the issue,'' the civil aviation ministry said in a statement on Saturday evening.

The systems are from Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL).

Naidu visited the ATC tower at the Delhi airport on Friday and Saturday.

According to the statement, the minister has directed that a detailed root-cause analysis be undertaken to prevent recurrence of such glitches in the future.

Naidu has also instructed officials to plan for more system advancements, including additional or fallback servers to strengthen ATC operations.

The ministry said the technical issue with the AMSS occurred on the afternoon of November 6 and continued into the morning of November 7.

On Friday, teams from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Air Navigation Services (ANS), and ECIL worked round the clock to identify and rectify the issue. ECIL promptly deputed additional manpower to assist in the restoration process, the release said.

The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital, which has four runways, handles more than 1,500 flight movements daily.