T3 chaos after server crashes

More than 50 flights were delayed at Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport on Wednesday morning after a technical glitch hit the check-in system.

More than 50 flights were delayed at Terminal 3 of the Delhi airport on Wednesday morning after a technical glitch hit the check-in system.

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The problem, which first surfaced at 3am, took nearly 12 hours to fix, holding up flights at the Indira Gandhi International Airport for half-an-hour to an hour.

With the snag affecting the system used at the check-in counters, passengers, mostly domestic, had to wait for the baggage to be checked in manually, leading to long queues.

Though the problem cropped up at a time that coincides with the departure of international flights, it was a smooth going as some machines were still up.

Chaos began with the morning rush hour — after 6am — when the bulk of morning flights leave. Though there were delays, there were no cancellations, said a spokesman of Delhi International Airport Ltd, the airport operator. The system was brought back online by 3pm.

The high-tech system allows airlines to operate from any counter, but has encountered similar problems earlier as well.