Power outage disrupted the flight operations at Delhi Airport for 20 minutes on Monday (June 17). As a result of the rare power cut, boarding and check in facilities of several airlines were impacted. Many flights from Terminal 2 were delayed.
Blackout at Delhi Airport
According to reports, due to a power outage at the airport, both international and domestic flights were affected. Passengers experienced heat due to the power cut. Additionally, passengers were unable to check in, and security check-ins came to a halt. Door frame metal detectors, which require electricity, are used for security. The operations of the immigration bureau's systems and the aerobridge also stopped. Delhi Airport completely blacked out.
Power restored after 20 minutes
Notably, such incidents are extremely rare at any airport, especially at an airport in the national capital which is one of the busiest airports in the world. However, new information indicates that after approximately 20 minutes of the power outage, electricity was restored at Delhi Airport. All services were reinstated, although it took a significant amount of time for the systems to restart. Consequently, it also took considerable time to resume flight operations.
Delhi International Airport Limited issues statement
DIAL said that a significant spike was detected at the grid at around 2 pm, impacting all IGI terminals.
“Around 2 PM today, Delhi Airport's Main Receiving Sub-station (MRSS) detected a significant voltage spike at the grid, reportedly due to the tripping of a 765KV line. This voltage imbalance from the Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) Grid briefly impacted all IGI terminals, affecting baggage acceptance and e-gates. To maintain essential services, we proactively switched all terminals to DG load. The power back-up system, installed by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), was operationalised within a few minutes, and all back-up procedures were initiated to facilitate passengers at all touch points," it said.
"By 3:00 PM, the grid voltage had stabilized and was accepted at the MRSS breaker and all services were smoothly transitioned back from DG load to DTL grid load, and the DG supply was disconnected. We appreciate the patience and understanding of all passengers during this brief period,” said a DIAL spokesperson.
(With inputs from Anamika Gaur)
