Authorities are examining ways to strengthen air traffic control (ATC) systems after the technical snag at Delhi airport earlier this month disrupted operations and delayed more than 800 flights. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the incident has prompted a wider review of processes and technology at India’s busiest airport.Speaking on the sidelines of a conference on Tuesday, the minister noted that the investigation into the failure of the Automatic Message Switching System (AMSS), which supports ATC’s flight planning function, is still under way. “It will be known after a thorough investigation,” he said when asked if a cyber attack had been ruled out. He added that a detailed assessment has been initiated to identify the exact root cause.Naidu said the focus is now on enhancing the backbone of air navigation systems. “So, we are looking at how we have to improve our systems, meet the standards… (how to bring) future technologies into the ATC… we have asked them to let us know on what should be the way forward in terms of (whether they want) more upgraded technologies,” he said, according to PTI.The communication, navigation and surveillance (CNS) functions that support Air Navigation Services (ANS) and Air Traffic Management (ATM) are handled by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Following the disruption on November 7, the minister had directed officials to conduct a root-cause analysis and put backup servers in place to reinforce operations.In a statement issued on November 8, the civil aviation ministry said the system had been restored by the afternoon owing to “the coordinated efforts of ECIL engineers, ATC personnel, and the ministry’s proactive monitoring”. It added that no flights were cancelled that day due to the issue.The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), which has four runways and manages over 1,500 daily flight movements, continues to operate normally as the probe into the November 7 disruption progresses.
