Govt orders forensic probe into AAI system failure that disrupted 900 flights amid cyber attack suspicion

The Centre has sought a definitive conclusion on whether external interference crippled operations at Delhi airport

The government has ordered a forensic investigation into last week’s system failure at Delhi airport that disrupted more than 900 flights, with officials seeking to determine whether the 28-hour disruption of a critical air traffic control communication system was triggered by a cyberattack.

The AAI manages air traffic control towers and air traffic services at 120 airports across India. (Hindustan Times)

“A forensic report into the issue is awaited, depending on which action will be taken,” an official aware of the development said, asking not to be named.

A second official said: “Concerned over what could be a probable cyberattack, the government has initiated a probe through an agency to understand the reason for the system malfunction.”

The failure at Indira Gandhi International Airport occurred on the afternoon of November 6 and persisted into the morning of November 7, causing 46 flight cancellations and widespread delays.

The Automatic Message Switching System — which feeds flight plan data to air traffic controllers — stopped transmitting information automatically, forcing controllers to prepare plans manually.

Airports Authority of India engineers have told civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu, secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and AAI chairman Vipin Kumar that the disruption was a “technology failure, not manpower shortage,” pointing to the obsolete AMSS that “lacks redundancy and modern capability”, people aware of the matter said.

Separately, the government is planning to upgrade systems at 70 airports across the country. A detailed plan is being worked out and monitored by Sinha, officials said. However, fifty airports, including major city airports, are upgraded. To be sure, the AAI manages air traffic control towers and services at 120 airports across India.

Officials said the investigation will also consider a computer failure at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport on November 8, when the runway lighting system switched off. Flight operations were suspended after the failure of lights that mark edges, centrelines and thresholds essential for night and low-visibility operations.

“Apart from others, the decision was taken even taking into account the glitch in the runway lighting system of Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport,” an official said.

On November 8, Naidu directed that a detailed root-cause analysis for the glitch at Delhi airport be undertaken to prevent recurrence. He also instructed officials to plan for system advancements, including additional or fallback servers, to strengthen air traffic control operations.

Separately, the government is planning to upgrade systems at 70 airports across the country. A detailed plan is being worked out and monitored by Sinha, officials said. Fifty airports, including major city airports, are part of this overhaul.

AAI manages air traffic control towers and services at 120 airports across India.

India’s security and aviation agencies are also probing a spike in GPS spoofing incidents across the country. The investigation was triggered by the first such case reported near Delhi airport during the same week as the system failure.