155 Air India Flights to be Delayed Till 8.30 PM Today Due to Software Shutdown

Each day, an average of around 674 flights of the Air India group fly. This includes subsidiaries such as Alliance Air and Air India Express.

New Delhi: A total of 155 Air India flights with an average duration of 2 hours is expected to be delayed until 8:30 PM, said news agency ANI. The news was announced following the shutdown of software in Air India’s passenger service system (PSS) for six hours Saturday, the airline said a total of 155 flights will be delayed for an average duration of two hours till 8.30 PM.

Thousands of passengers had a harrowing time on Saturday morning at airports across the world as the airline’s PSS software, which looks after check-in, baggage and reservation, did not function from 3.30 am to 8.45 am due to a technical glitch. Information technology company SITA’s senior manager corporate communications Julius Baumann said, “SITA experienced a complex system issue during server maintenance early this morning, which resulted in operational disruption to Air India flights.” He added, “We have now fully restored services at all airports where Air India was affected. Our priority remains, as always, to ensure a stable system where customers can conduct business efficiently and effectively, and we are undertaking a full investigation to understand the root cause and prevent a recurrence.”

“155 flights, with an average duration of two hours, are expected to be delayed till 2030 hours,” said an Air India spokesperson. The airline’s chairman and managing director (CMD) Ashwani Lohani said he expects normalisation of operations by Saturday night.

The average number of flights that Air India group, which also includes subsidiaries Alliance Air and Air India Express, flies daily are around 674.

(With agency inputs)