Flight operations across India faced severe disruptions on Wednesday morning after a widespread failure of check-in systems at multiple airports. The technical glitch forced major airlines to revert to slower manual procedures, causing immediate delays and inconveniencing passengers.
Widespread Technical Failure Grounds Operations
The outage impacted check-in platforms simultaneously at several key airports, including major hubs. An announcement made to passengers at Varanasi airport directly attributed the problem to Microsoft, stating, “Microsoft Windows reports major service outages globally. IT services/ check in systems at airports are impacted.” Consequently, all affected travelers were informed that manual check-in and boarding processes were being implemented while the systems remained down.
Airlines Scramble, Microsoft Status Unclear
Domestic carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, Akasa Air, and Air India Express were among those hit by the failure. In an official statement, IndiGo acknowledged the issue, saying, “We have had several unavoidable flight delays and some cancellations in the past few days due to various reasons… Our teams are working diligently to ensure that operations normalise as soon as possible.”
Interestingly, when checked, the official status page for Microsoft services showed no reported problems, displaying a message that read, “All products are operational.” This contradiction left the exact cause of the airport IT meltdown unclear.
Airport Advisories and Passenger Guidance
Delhi Airport issued a passenger advisory on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) at 7:40 am, acknowledging the “operational challenges.” The post stated, “Some domestic airlines are currently experiencing operational challenges, which may lead to delays or schedule changes. Our on-ground teams are diligently working with all stakeholders to ensure a seamless and efficient passenger experience.”
The advisory strongly urged passengers to contact their respective airlines directly for the latest information on their flights. As of Wednesday morning, the full scale of the disruption and the expected time for a complete restoration of systems remained uncertain. This incident echoes a similar global Microsoft 365 outage earlier this year, which was reportedly caused by a faulty update.
