Air India on Saturday issued a travel advisory warning passengers of possible delays after a third-party data network outage disrupted check-in systems at Mumbai airport earlier in the day.
“A third-party data network outage had impacted check-in systems at Mumbai airport, thereby delaying flight departures of airlines, including Air India. The systems have since been restored, however, some of our flights may continue to be affected for some time as the situation normalises progressively,” the airline said in a statement posted on its official handle on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The first instance of a delay was reported at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport soon after midnight on Friday led to a heated exchange between passengers and the airline staff.
Video footage shared by news agency ANI showed one staff member attempting to calm the situation, telling passengers to “speak calmly” (“aaram se baat kariye”). Airline employees said they were trying to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
The delays come at a time when Air India is already under intense scrutiny following the June 12th crash of a Boeing Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard.
The accident remains the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade and is still under investigation.
The crash has placed Air India and its subsidiary, Air India Express, under closer regulatory watch. The engine issue in the Air India Express Airbus was first raised on March 18, months before the fatal incident.
This year, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also warned parent Air India for operating three Airbus aircraft with overdue checks on escape slides.
Air India Express, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India and part of the Tata Group, operates over 115 aircraft and connects to more than 50 destinations. The airline runs about 500 flights daily.
