Airline systems at airports, which were disrupted by a global IT outage on Friday, are returning to normal, with full resolution expected by noon on Saturday, Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu posted on X, formerly Twitter. The ministry is actively monitoring airport and airline operations to address travel adjustments and refunds.
Naidu stated in his post on X that since 3 AM on Saturday, airline systems across airports have resumed normal functioning, and flight operations are proceeding smoothly.
Friday’s widespread IT outage, one of the largest in recent history, was triggered by an update from global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which caused issues with Microsoft’s Windows platform. This led to disruptions across various sectors, including finance, airlines, hospitals, and some television channels.
The outage forced airports nationwide to switch from online booking, reservation, and boarding systems to manual processes, resulting in longer passenger processing times, numerous flight delays, and cancellations.
As the backlog from Friday’s disruptions is being gradually cleared, Naidu anticipates that all issues will be resolved by noon. The reservation and check-in systems for major airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, Akasa, and Air India Express are now operational.
A passenger at Delhi Airport noted that online check-in services, which had been unavailable due to the outage, were now functioning, and flights were on schedule. The passenger described Friday’s disruption as a network issue beyond anyone’s control.
Budget carrier IndiGo, which operates over 2,000 daily flights, reported that approximately 200 flights were canceled due to the outage. The airline acknowledged that while significant progress has been made in restoring normal operations, customers might still experience delays and disruptions over the weekend.
SpiceJet and Akasa Air confirmed late Friday that their systems, including ticket bookings, were back online. SpiceJet reported that all airport systems, ticket bookings, and call centers were functioning smoothly following the outage resolution. Akasa Air noted that despite the global systems downtime, all scheduled flights on Friday operated with minimal disruptions and no cancellations.