Delhi Airport Flight Delays Caused By Technical Glitch, Not Cyber Attack: IT Ministry

An official from the Information Technology (IT) ministry confirmed that the widespread flight delays at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) were not the result of a cyber attack but stemmed from a technical issue. The problem occurred during the upgrade of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) software, which disrupted the automatic updating of flight plans.

Authorities from the IT ministry conducted checks on Friday morning after reports surfaced about possible cyber interference. However, the civil aviation ministry clarified that the disruption was purely technical.

According to Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the issue affected the Automatic Message Switching System used in ATC flight planning, leading to delays in all airline operations. DIAL assured that teams were working to resolve the glitch promptly and advised passengers to stay in touch with their airlines for updated flight schedules.

The IGIA, India’s busiest airport managing over 1,500 flights daily, saw more than 500 flights delayed on Thursday, as reported by flight-tracking service Flightradar24.