Delhi Airport Woes: Power Outage Affects Services; Intense Heat Delays Flight By 3-1/2 Hrs

New Delhi: It was a forgettable day for the Indira Gandhi International Airport, one of the busiest in India.

First a power outage at the airport threw operations into disarray, affecting boarding and check-in processes for a brief period.

Later, in the afternoon, an IndiGo flight to Bagdogra was delayed for more than three hours due to a technical snag caused by high ground temperatures.

The 6E-2521 flight, scheduled to depart IGI airport at 2.10 pm, was parked on the tarmac, according to online flight tracking platform FlightRadar24. The flight finally took off at 5.51 pm, three-and-half hours behind schedule.

“Delhi-Bagdogra flight delayed due to high ground temperatures impeding operations. IndiGo prioritises passenger safety above all else and is taking steps to enable a prompt departure. Passengers are being provided with regular updates and we regret the inconvenience caused due to factors beyond the airline’s control,” IndiGo said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, with DigiYatra and check-in counters not functioning due to power outage, the T3 terminal of Delhi airport was choked with passengers.

“T3 terminal #delhiairport totally choked due to power failure! No counter, No Digiyatra, nothing functioning. This is shocking,” one user wrote on X.

Delhi airport authorities responded by saying they noted the feedback and shared the same with the concerned team to look into the problem.

The outage lasted for two to three minutes, before the power shifted to back-up and processes like baggage-loading at boarding gates, DigiYatra and air-conditioners all re-booted, an airport official said.

“Due to the high AC load, it took a couple of minutes to return to full power. Systems like the DigiYatra rebooted again and were operational soon after,” the official claimed, adding that there was no impact on flight operations.