Lok Sabha Question No. 698 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-04
Subject: Software Glitch at IGI Airport
Ministry: CIVIL AVIATION
Asked by: Dr. Ganapathy Rajkumar P, Shri Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane, Thiru Thanga Tamilselvan, Shri Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, Shri Eatala Rajender, Shri Sudheer Gupta, Shri Chavan Ravindra Vasantrao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 698

(To be answered on the 4 th December 2025)

## SOFTWARE GLITCH AT IGI AIRPORT

698.             DR. GANAPATHY RAJKUMAR P SHRI DHAIRYASHEEL SAMBHAJIRAO MANE THIRU THANGA TAMILSELVAN SHRI CHAMALA KIRAN KUMAR REDDY SHRI EATALA RAJENDER SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA SHRI CHAVAN RAVINDRA VASANTRAO

Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that Air Traffic Control (ATC) software glitch/spoofing of navigation at Indira Gandhi International Airport on 7th and 8th November, 2025 had delayed/cancelled more than 800 flights and affected over a lakh passenger and if so, the details thereof along with the total loss

occurred to the airlines;

- (b) whether  the  Government  has  given  any  suitable  instructions  to  the  Airport Authority of India (AAI) to upgrade the systems at busy airports in order to handle the increasing air traffic in future and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has ordered any inquiry into the incident to identify lapses in maintenance or cybersecurity protocols and if so, the details and the outcome thereof; and
- (d) whether  the  DGCA  has  taken  any  action/measures  to  strengthen  system resilience and ensure timely backup to avoid such incident in future and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION

(Shri Murlidhar Mohol)

(a):  High  latency  in  the  processing  and  delivery  of  Air  Traffic  Service  (ATS) messages  to  Air  Traffic  Management  Automation  System  (ATMAS)  and  other stakeholders, was observed at Delhi International Airport on 06.11.2025 at 11:00 Hrs IST, which led to delay in the delivery of Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication  Network  (AFTN)  messages  including  Flight  Plan  (FPL), issuance of mandatory Flight Information Centre (FIC) number and Air Defence Clearances and therefore resulted in delays in 397 scheduled passenger departures during 06.11.2025 to 08.11.2025. In case of any disruption in operations, due to adverse weather conditions, congestion or technical issues, airlines incur additional expenditure attributable to such factors, and hence quantifying losses arising from a specific issue is not feasible.

(b) to (d): To avert recurrence of such events, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken the replacement of the existing IP-based Automatic Message Switching System  (AMSS) with the new Air Traffic Services  Message Handling  System  (AMHS).  Further,  AAI  has  been  directed  to  carry  out  a comprehensive audit  of  all  Communication,  Navigation,  and  Surveillance  (CNS) equipment across the airports to evaluate their condition, operational reliability, and lifecycle  management.  The  Director  General  of  Civil  Aviation  (DGCA)  has conducted  an  inspection  of  the  AMSS  system  related  to  the  Air  Traffic  Control (ATC) software glitch at Delhi Airport. Accordingly, the existing database servers have been replaced by the new upgraded version to improve the system performance.

*****