A major technical glitch at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport late Friday caused widespread disruption, leading to delays of nearly 800 flights across domestic and international terminals.
The incident, which began around 4:30 pm on November 7, 2025, affected the airport’s centralized operational system, disrupting critical functions like check-in, boarding, and flight scheduling.
What Exactly Happened
According to initial reports, the glitch occurred in the airport’s core network management system (NMS) — the digital backbone that coordinates real-time flight information, gate assignments, and baggage handling.
When the system went offline, airport staff had to switch to manual processing, significantly slowing down operations. Long queues formed at check-in counters, and passengers faced confusion due to frequent gate changes and incomplete flight information on digital boards.
Airport officials said that the outage was not due to a security breach or cyberattack, but a technical malfunction in the server network that temporarily halted automated coordination between terminals.
Impact on Flight Operations
Between 4:30 pm and 9:00 pm, around 800 flights were delayed, with several departures rescheduled and a few diverted to nearby airports including Jaipur and Lucknow.
International flights were the worst affected, as airlines had to complete additional document verification manually. Domestic carriers such as IndiGo, Vistara, and Air India issued advisories urging passengers to arrive early and stay updated via airline apps.
Passengers took to social media to report overcrowded terminals, long waiting times, and lack of real-time announcements.
How Authorities Responded
The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) technical team, along with representatives from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), worked for several hours to restore connectivity.
By late evening, the core systems were partially restored, and normal operations resumed gradually by midnight.
A DIAL spokesperson confirmed:
“A temporary network failure caused delays across multiple terminals. The issue has been resolved, and flight operations are stabilizing. We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers.”
Root Cause Analysis Underway
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has asked for a detailed technical report to determine whether the glitch resulted from a hardware malfunction, software update error, or power fluctuation in the data servers.
A senior DGCA official mentioned that such incidents highlight the importance of redundancy and fail-safe systems to ensure continuity in airport operations.
Experts suggest that the Delhi airport — one of the busiest in Asia — should implement backup cloud systems and real-time data mirroring to avoid large-scale disruptions in the future.
Key Takeaways
Cause: Server malfunction in core network management system
Impact: Nearly 800 flights delayed, some diverted
Duration: 4:30 pm to midnight (partial restoration)
No Cyberattack: Confirmed by DIAL and DGCA
Preventive Action: Review of backup and IT redundancy systems underway
Conclusion
The Delhi Airport glitch exposed how deeply aviation operations depend on digital infrastructure — and how a single malfunction can ripple through an entire network.
While systems have now been restored, the event serves as a wake-up call for India’s airports to strengthen cyber resilience, backup systems, and emergency protocols to protect passengers from large-scale disruptions in the future.
Published on : 8th November
Published by : SMITA
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Source Credit: This article is based on a report by Tanushka Dutta, originally published by Asian News International (ANI).