Flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the country’s busiest aviation hub, plunged into disarray on Friday after a major technical fault crippled air traffic control (ATC) systems, triggering massive delays across over 600 domestic and international flights, while a few were cancelled.

The cascading disruption paralysed schedules nationwide and caused heavy financial losses to airline operators, estimated in several crores.

The trouble began with a failure in the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), a critical component that relays flight plans, weather data and operational messages between ATC and airlines. The malfunction forced controllers to abandon automated systems and revert to manual operations, a step that, while safe, drastically slowed t

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