Chaos At Delhi Airport After Over 100 Flights Delayed Due To Air Traffic Control Glitch

New Delhi: At least 100 flights were delayed on Friday morning at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, according to Delhi Airport.

Passengers have been advised to contact their respective airlines for the latest flight updates.

In a post on X, Delhi Airport shared, "Due to a technical issue with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, flight operations at IGIA are experiencing delays. Their team is actively working with all stakeholders, including DIAL, to resolve it at the earliest."

"Passengers are advised to stay in touch with their respective airlines for the latest flight updates. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused," the post read.

Air traffic control (ATC) refers to a ground-based service in which controllers manage and guide the movement of aircraft both on the ground and within controlled airspace.

Meanwhile, earlier, Air India introduced a "Flexi Contract for Pilots," a new work model that allows flight crew to choose shorter duty patterns while maintaining operational smoothness. The airline says the plan aims to match pilots' preferences with roster needs, focusing on work-life balance without compromising efficiency.

Under the policy, Line Pilots and Line Training Captains on A320, B777 and A350 fleets are eligible. Junior First Officers, Type Rating Instructors and Direct Entry pilots are not. The contract offers two fixed patterns: for wide-body aircraft, 15 days on and 15 days off; for narrow-body aircraft, 20 days on and 10 days off. Annual leave aligns with these rosters--eight privilege and four sick leaves for wide-body pilots, and 12 privilege plus six sick leaves for narrow-body colleagues. The contract tenure will be 12 months, which can be extended at the company's discretion. After the contract ends, pilots return to their original terms.

Air India states that selection is made through an Expression of Interest process, with seniority and operational needs guiding the final list. An exit needs three months' notice. If a pilot is selected for a fleet or command upgrade, the pilot returns to the original contract from the start of training; if an upgrade is refused, the existing career policy on freezes applies. The company may also revert a pilot to the old contract if required, and this does not change pay terms that applied before switching to flexi terms.

(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)