Software snag delays 155 AI flights: 800 passengers stranded at Shamshabad airport

Hyderabad: Thousands of Air India passengers were stuck in airports across the world due to an error in the check-in computer network of the airline that began at 3.30 am on Saturday. About 800 AI passengers were stranded in the city’s Shamshabad airport.

Eight domestic flights from Hyderabad were cancelled and several passengers returned home after waiting for hours. The airline was unable to issue boarding passes, and passengers were told that the airline could not give a timeframe by when the error could be rectified. A total of 155 flights were cancelled due to the glitch on Saturday.

According to the official communication, the system was restored at 8.45 am on Saturday. But the glitch had a domino effect and resulted in consequential delays.

Later in the day, AI said the schedules would be back to normal by 8.30 pm. At the Shamshabad airport, the operation of two flights each to Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru and one each from Kolkata and Visakhapatnam was affected.

A passenger, Mr Suresh Kumar, said, “There was total chaos at the counters, the staff was not able to answer questions on when they would begin issuing boarding passes”.

Ms Ankita Reddy, who was booked on an AI flight to Delhi, said, “My flight was cancelled, re-scheduled, cancelled again and re-scheduled. Elders were found resting on the airport floor.”