Glitch hits airports again: Check-ins affected; Air India asks flyers to check status

Air India has issued a travel advisory urging passengers to confirm flight status before airport arrival due to a third-party system outage impacting check-in operations and causing widespread delays. The airline's teams are working to restore services and minimize passenger inconvenience. Travelers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys.
NEW DELHI: Air India on Tuesday issued a travel advisory asking passengers to check their flight status before heading to the airport, as a third-party system disruption affected check-in operations at multiple airports and caused delays across several airlines. In a post on X, Air India said, "A third-party system disruption has been affecting check-in systems at various airports, resulting in delays across multiple airlines, including Air India. Our airport teams are working diligently to ensure a smooth check-in experience for all passengers. While the system is progressively getting restored, some of our flights may continue to experience delays until the situation fully normalises. "
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The airline urged passengers to verify their flight status through its official portal before starting their journey. "We request passengers to check their flight status at "https://airindia.com/in/en/manage/flight-status.html" before leaving for the airport, and to allow additional time for their journey. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding," the airline added. Airlines worldwide occasionally rely on third-party service providers for check-in and operational systems, and disruptions of this nature can lead to cascading delays. Air India said its teams are working to restore services and minimise inconvenience to travellers. However, an hour later, Air India shared an update saying, "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." The latest disruption comes weeks after major technical issues at Delhi Airport’s air traffic control affected flight operations on November 7. On that day, a software snag in the Aeronautical Message Switching System slowed down flight movements and led to stacked-up delays. By 9 am, more than 150 flights had been impacted, with departures delayed by over an hour and fears that parking constraints would soon affect arrivals. Also read: Longer wait times, flight delays: Delhi airport ATC hit by technical snag; airlines issue advisory Delhi Airport had then issued a passenger advisory on X saying, "Due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, flight operations at IGIA are experiencing delays. Their team is actively working with all stakeholders including DIAL to resolve it at the earliest. Passengers are advised to stay in touch with their respective airlines for the latest flight updates. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused. " The AMSS processes flight plans for aircraft arriving, departing and overflying Delhi airspace. With the system malfunctioning, officials had been feeding flight data manually, adding heavy workload pressure on controllers. A team from Electronics Corporation of India Ltd, Hyderabad, had been working to fix the glitch. Also read: Air India snag: Check-in hit by network glitch; systems down for 70 minutes at Delhi airport During that period, multiple airlines including SpiceJet, IndiGo and Air India had issued advisories warning passengers of long delays. SpiceJet said, "Due to ATC congestion at Delhi, all departures and arrivals and their consequential flights might get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status." IndiGo said flights faced "extended wait times both on the ground and onboard" and urged passengers to check its website for real-time updates. Air India had also said, "A technical issue with the ATC system in Delhi is impacting flight operations across all airlines, leading to delays and longer wait times at the airport and onboard aircraft." Also read: India's A320 fleet finishes software fix in just over a day With Tuesday’s disruption adding to the series of recent system-related challenges, airlines have urged passengers to plan ahead, track flight alerts and arrive at airports with additional time until operations normalise.
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