A technical glitch in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) messaging system at Delhi Airport on November 6, 2025, caused significant disruptions including delays and cancellations of approximately 46 flights over two days. The incident triggered a concerted multi-agency response to restore normalcy and minimize passenger inconvenience.
Immediate Response and Management
Teams from Airports Authority of India (AAI), Air Navigation Services (ANS), and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) collaborated intensively to diagnose and resolve the issue. ECIL quickly deployed additional manpower to support restoration efforts. Meanwhile, ATC staff managed flight operations manually, demonstrating readiness and commitment to passenger safety and operational continuity.
Ministerial Oversight and Directives
Union Civil Aviation Minister Shri Rammohan Naidu personally visited the Delhi ANS Centre late on the night of November 7 to assess the situation. Accompanied by senior officials including Secretary (MoCA) Shri Samir Kumar Sinha and Chairman (AAI) Shri Vipin Kumar, the Minister directed ECIL to increase technical manpower and ensured additional ATC staff deployment to support manual air traffic control operations during the downtime.
Due to these coordinated efforts, the ATC messaging system was fully restored to automatic mode by the afternoon of November 8, with no flight cancellations reported on that day.
Future Preventive Measures
The Minister has mandated a detailed root-cause analysis to prevent such glitches in the future and instructed officials to plan upgrades involving additional or fallback servers to enhance system robustness and operational security.
Conclusion
The swift response and leadership led by Union Civil Aviation Minister Shri Rammohan Naidu ensured seamless management of the Delhi Airport ATC glitch, safeguarding passenger safety and minimizing disruption. The incident underscored the critical importance of technological resilience in air traffic management and demonstrated India’s capability to respond effectively to operational challenges.
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Source: PIB
