T3: CUTE glitches delay AI flights

The problems at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 3 don’t seem to end.

The problems at Indira Gandhi International Airport’s Terminal 3 don’t seem to end.

HT Image

On Tuesday, many domestic departures were delayed between 4.30 pm and 6.15 pm due to a technical glitch. The delays ranged from half an hour to two and a half hours.

The majority of delays were in Air India flights, at a time when the airline has been facing problems of its own, after increasing the number of its flights from IGIA this month.

While Air India flights to destinations like Guwahati, Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata were delayed by about an hour, departures of Kingfisher Airlines (Amritsar, Indore, Chandigarh and others) and Jet Airways (Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and others) were delayed by half and hour to one hour.

Spokespersons of Jet and Kingfisher airlines could not be contacted over the phone despite repeated attempts.

Private airport developer Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said that the problem was only with Air India flights, specifically in rows E and F, due to a software error.

“There was a problem in the software, that is provided to us by DIAL and we had to issue manual boarding passes, which resulted in the delays,” said an Air India spokesman.

“There was an error in the Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) installed by DIAL,” he said.

The Terminal 3 of IGI airport has been facing teething troubles ever since domestic operations shifted there from November 14.