Air India software shutdown effect: 137 flights delayed on Sunday

The ripple effect of the five-hour shutdown of Air India's check-in software, which occurred on Saturday morning, was still being felt as 137 flights were delayed on Sunday, the airline said. The average duration of delay of these 137 flights was 197 minutes, a spokesperson of the airline said, adding, "Hopefully, by tomorrow (Monday) evening, the services will be normalised."

Thousands of passengers had a harrowing time at airports across the world on Saturday morning as Air India's Passenger Service System (PSS) software, which looks after check-in, baggage and reservation, did not function from 3.30 am to 8.45 am due to a technical glitch. The spokesperson said a total of 149 flights were delayed on Saturday because of the software shutdown.

Asked what was its effect on Sunday, he said, "As many as 137 international and domestic flights are delayed by 197 minutes on an average." The average number of flights the Air India group, including subsidiaries Alliance Air and Air India Express, operates daily is 674.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, Ashwani Lohani, expressed hope on Sunday as he said "things should be normal tomorrow (Monday)". The PSS software is owned and managed by SITA, an Atlanta-based company. No other Indian airline apart from Air India uses SITA's PSS software.

A similar incident took place on June 23 last year when a technical glitch in the airline's check-in software delayed 25 of its flights across India.