Air India's check-in chaos eased after restoration of third-party system hit by nationwide glitch

Air India moved quickly on Tuesday to assure passengers that operations were back to normal after a third-party system glitch disrupted check-ins at multiple airports. Within hours of flagging the issue, the airline announced that the system had been restored and that all flights were running on schedule.

In a post on X, Air India said, “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 disruption, which surfaced late Tuesday, briefly affected check-in systems for Air India and several other carriers. The airline had initially acknowledged delays linked to the outage, stating, “A third-party system disruption has been affecting check-in systems at various airports, resulting in delays across multiple airlines, including Air India.”

FlightRadar24 data showed a spike in the Departure Delay Index at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, reaching Level 4, a sign of widespread delays and cancellations following the initial reports of the glitch.

Before the system stabilised, Air India had cautioned travellers about possible residual delays. “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. We request passengers to check their flight status,” the airline said.

The brief disruption comes barely a month after a major technical snag at Delhi Airport’s Air Traffic Control system triggered chaos, delaying more than 800 flights. That incident was traced to a fault in the Automatic Message Switching System, which feeds data to the Auto Track System used by controllers.

Adding to ongoing concerns, the Centre informed Parliament on Monday that several airports, including Delhi, had reported instances of GPS spoofing and GNSS interference over the past year. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu outlined the reported cases and the steps being taken to mitigate such threats.