Flight Operations Running Smoothly Post IT Outage, Says Centre

The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday, reported that flight operations were running smoothly and airline systems had returned to normal at all airports, following a global Microsoft outage that caused flight cancellations and disruptions at check-in counters the previous day. The ministry added that all concerns regarding travel adjustments and refunds were being addressed.

“Since 3 am, airline systems across airports have started working normally. Flight operations are going smoothly now. There is a backlog because of disruptions yesterday, and it is getting cleared gradually. By noon today, we expect all issues to be resolved,” the Aviation Ministry said.

On Saturday morning, IGI Airport in Delhi experienced major disruptions due to the Digi Yatra system, a biometric-based boarding system, being out of service. This resulted in long lines at the departure terminals as passengers had to check in manually. To help manage the situation, airport authorities have assigned extra staff to assist travelers and alleviate the congestion.

Between 6 and 7 am today, the system continued to experience issues with issuing boarding passes, though the situation improved later in the day.

Despite the earlier chaos, most flights largely remained on schedule, with the waiting time at Terminal 3 departures averaging around 3 to 5 minutes—a notable improvement from Friday’s widespread delays caused by the global outage.

The global IT disruption had extensive effects, impacting airline operations worldwide. Airports and airlines, which rely heavily on Windows-based systems for check-ins, baggage handling, and security clearances, were particularly affected. This outage underscored the vulnerability of essential infrastructure to software problems.

At IGI Airport, the immediate and severe impact of the Digi Yatra system failure necessitated a return to manual procedures. This slowed operations and placed additional pressure on airport staff and resources.

The Microsoft 365 and Azure services outage led to delays and cancellations for hundreds of flights, including those operated by Indigo, Air India, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air, as airlines had to revert to manual processes.

At Delhi airport, over 400 flights were delayed, and numerous passengers shared images of handwritten boarding passes on social media.