155 flights delayed as Air India's check-in software shuts down for more than 5 hrs
New Delhi: Thousands of Air India passengers had a harrowing time at airports across the world on Saturday as its 155 flights were delayed due to the shutdown of its check-in software for more than five hours due to a technical snag.
The national carrier's chairman and managing director (CMD) Ashwani Lohani said that the passenger service system (PSS) software, which looks after check-in, baggage and reservation, did not work from 3.30 am to 8.45 am on Saturday.
During this time period, thousands of Air India passengers were stranded at airports globally as the airline staff was unable to issue a boarding pass to themAir India's PSS is owned and managed by Atlanta-based SITA company.
Lohani said that "till 10 am total 85 flights were delayed" because of PSS shutdown. "Because of the 85 flights that have been delayed, a ripple effect will take place throughout the day," he said, adding that a "few flights will also be cancelled because of this delay".
Later in the day, the airline's spokesperson clarified that a total of 155 flights would be delayed for an average duration of two hours till 8.30 pm.
The average number of flights that Air India group, which also includes subsidiaries Alliance Air and Air India Express, flies daily is around 674.It is mostly the domestic flights that have been affected the most due to the software shutdown, Lohani clarified.
"International departures will not be facing much problems...There will be delay in one or two international flights. One Delhi-Shanghai flight is getting delayed by about 1.5 hours. The flights that are departing for Europe are largely running on time," he said.
About affected passengers, the CMD said that the airline is trying its best to inform them through social media and its call centre. "But as the magnitude is so big, it is possible that our call centre is not able to handle the volume," he said.
The passengers who will miss their flights will be given hotel accommodations or they will be rescheduled in a different flight of Air India or of an another airline, he said.
Lohani said that SITA is currently looking into what caused the shutdown. "They are checking if it was because of virus or for any other reason. They are still searching for the root cause," he said.
No other Indian airline apart from Air India uses SITA's PSS software. When asked if SITA would be compensating the airline for disruption in its operations, the CMD replied that "we will have to take a look into it".
SITA regretted the inconvenience caused and said it had experienced a complex system issue during server maintenance early morning which resulted in operational disruption to flights.
"We have now fully restored services at all airports where Air India were affected. Our priority remains, as always, to ensure a stable system where customers can conduct business efficiently and effectively, and we are undertaking a full investigation to understand the root cause and prevent a recurrence," SITA said in a statement to PTI.
Many passengers vented their ire on social media on Saturday morning. A Dr Sonal Saxena tweeted at 7.20 am, "Utter chaos. Air India systems not working at Delhi since 3 am. All flights grounded and delayed. No checkins and boarding."
When asked why passengers were not informed about flight delays through SMS or social media during the shutdown, the Air India CMD said, "Whenever any other system does not function properly, we use PSS to get contact information of passengers and then contact them. But when our PSS itself has stopped working, there is no way we can inform them."
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.
The airline had tweeted on June 23, "Due to unexpexted network connectivity issues at SITA #Atlanta #Datacenter , which had a #worldwide impact, 25 flights were delayed from 1210 hrs to 1510 hrs on #Airindia network. Operations are normal now (sic).
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
