ATC radar collapses, again

New Delhi: For the fifth time this year, the radar system at Delhi airport’s air traffic control (ATC) developed a snag on Wednesday, disrupting flights. The radar screens at the Delhi ATC went blank at 5.50 pm on Wednesday, after the software system that displays flight data crashed. The system was restored at 6.14 pm.
The ATC is using a new software, Autotrac III, on validation trial, which developed a snag and collapsed. ATC officials immediately switched over to the earlier system, Autotrac II.
At least 20 flights were directly affected during this period and about 50 flights were delayed by the backlog that ensued.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which handles air traffic at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), claimed that no flights were disrupted due to the radar system failure.
An AAI spokesman said that such glitches are part of the validation process and the stand-by system was running simultaneously. He claimed that there were no disruptions due to the problem.
Senior airline officials, however, said that the snag during peak evening traffic hour led to cascading delays and also affected flights directly, till the system was brought back to normalcy.
28/07/10 Hindustan Times

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Categories: Airports Jul 2010