Massive Chaos at Delhi Airport: 400+ Flights Delayed After ATC Glitch, Security Breach Sparks Major Hunt

New Delhi (India) November 7: On Friday, around 400 flights were delayed and it was also blamed on a "technical glitch" in the ATC system. Its effect was cascading through the other North India airports and hundreds of flights were affected.

GPS Spoofing Adds to Chaos

This follows GPS spoofing situations earlier in the week, when Delhi airport came second globally for flight disruptions on Tuesday, Times of India said in a report. At least seven flights were diverted to the nearest available airports, in Jaipur and Lucknow.

The GPS spoofing has been taken note of by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and it has initiated an enquiry.

GPS spoofing — a type of cyber attack that broadcasts incorrect signals to divert away airborne drones and ships from their actual navigation routes. 

ATC Glitch Cripples Air Traffic

Flight services at the airport had also been affected following a technical glitch in Air Traffic Control. In its previous update, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had said teams are making efforts to restore AMSS, responsible for the flow of information for flights at ATC consoles.

According to them, air traffic controllers in Delhi are "manually preparing" flight plans based on whatever information at hand as the technical fault is being investigated and this also takes time due to which flights inevitably get delayed.

Airlines Issue Travel Advisories

Considering the technical glitch in Air Traffic Control System, several airlines including IndiGo, Air India, Air India Express SpiceJet and Akasa Air have issued advisories.

Airlines have announced that their flights in and out of the Delhi airport are delayed in light of a defective air traffic control system. In its latest advisory, Indigo has asked the passengers to reach the airport little early.

British Passenger Escapes Security

In a serious security lapse at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, a British citizen who arrived from Bangkok reportedly escaped from immigration and took shelter in the city early today leading to an extensive search operation, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on October 28 after the passenger identified as Fitz Patrick, a British national, landed at Delhi from Bangkok, they said.

Patrick was due to be deported back to the UK via Thailand, but disappeared after landing in Delhi. He reportedly fled the immigration area and then the airport before being properly processed, police said.

The search for the fugitive being coordinated by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), that is responsible for airport security, in collaboration with Bureau of Immigration as well as Delhi Police.

Airport CCTV is being reviewed to establish the sequence of events and search for any lapses that resulted in the escape, officials said.