Brief power outage at IGI Airport causes chaos at Terminal 3

New Delhi: A brief power outage at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi caused significant disruption to operations at Terminal 3 (T3), impacting check-in and boarding facilities. The outage, which lasted for two to three minutes, led to temporary chaos as essential systems went offline.

Passengers reported congestion and confusion at the T3 terminal due to the failure of both the Digi Yatra system and check-in counters. “T3 terminal #delhi #airport totally choked due to power failure! No counter, no Digi Yatra, nothing functioning. This is shocking,” one user wrote on X, reflecting the frustration experienced by many travellers.

In response to the complaints, Delhi airport authorities acknowledged the feedback and assured that the issue was being investigated by the concerned team.

An airport official explained that the power outage was brief, with systems switching to backup power within a couple of minutes. “Due to the high AC load, it took a couple of minutes to return to full power. Systems like Digi Yatra rebooted again and were operational soon after,” the official stated. They confirmed that flight operations were not affected during the outage.

The temporary blackout affected several processes, including baggage loading at boarding gates and the functioning of air-conditioners, causing inconvenience to passengers. However, the airport’s quick transition to backup power helped mitigate prolonged disruption.

Despite the swift recovery, the incident highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure at one of India’s busiest airports, raising concerns about contingency measures for such occurrences in the future.

Airport authorities are expected to review the incident to prevent future occurrences and ensure smoother handling of power-related issues to avoid impacting passenger experience and operational efficiency.