Network connectivity issues at KIA

The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here has been caught in a twister of network connectivity issues over the past four days, disrupting cargo services and critical communication channels. Flight operations were, however, not affected until late Tuesday evening.

Although the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) said passengers were not inconvenienced, the airport website was reportedly down for hours before it was restored. The airport's Twitter account had to tweet a passenger advisory that directed queries and requests for help to its call and WhatsApp numbers (9538882209/8884998888).

A BIAL spokesperson attributed the problems to fluctuating connectivity of the airport's internal Wi-fi systems. "Our IT Department is working to restore the services. Since the network has been fluctuating, we have supplied our partners with internet dongles and SIMs," the spokesperson said.

The disruption in the airport's phone lines sparked big problems for critical internal communications. Until Tuesday night, it was not immediately known what caused the problems. The spokesperson, however, said issues would be resolved at the earliest.

The Wi-fi connectivity problems forced some passengers to approach the airport officials, who could not immediately respond. A traveller, Apoorv Badami, tweeted wondering what the problem was. "A lot of people are inconvenienced. So what is the workaround? Backup?"

Another passenger had this to tweet: "Bangalore is world's software capital, yet the airport can't provide decent WiFi. How do foreigners without an Indian phone get a OTP? Change the WiFi access system. Simplify it."

Airport sources indicated that the technical issues were with the internal servers. At one point, even the official emails were not going through. The web check-in facilities were also affected, causing problems for passengers who frequently used them. This system was unavailable for a day, the sources said.

The delay in resolving the network issues forced many sections within the airport to switch to manual mode. The sources said the services of at least one flight was partially affected. However, this could not be confirmed.

On July 31, a glitch in the computer systems had briefly affected operations at the Mumbai Domestic and International Airport. All operations had been halted at both the T1 and T2 terminals of the airport.