4 Delhi-city flights delayed at BPIA

Bhubaneswar: At least four Bhubaneswar-New Delhi flights faced delays in arrival and departure at the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here as the automated message switching system (AMSS) crashed due to a server failure at IGI Airport in the national capital.BPIA sources said that because of the glitch, the flights were operated manually, resulting in the delay. The four flights — one of IndiGo, two of Air India, and another of Air India Express — were delayed between 6 am and 3 pm. “The flights were delayed by one and a half hours. If the incoming flight is delayed, the outgoing one will also be delayed as the same aircraft is used. All the four delayed flights were direct ones,” said BPIA director Prasanna Pradhan.He said operations of all other flights were normal. “In the case of Delhi flights, the delay was also because of the cumulative effect — delay of one flight delaying the other. These were direct services; otherwise, had they been indirect flights having a stopover, there would have been more delay,” Pradhan added.Airport sources said there was not much rush of passengers at the departure lounge as the timings of the four delayed flights were different. The ground operations and check-ins were smooth.