Airports Authority of India Achieves Continuous Operations Despite Natural Calamity
Overview.
Airport Authority of India (AAI), a Government of India Public Sector Enterprise, is entrusted with the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure both on the ground and in air space in the country. AAI focuses on incorporating information technology to enhance operational efficiency and transparency across 110 airports across the country.
On December 3, 2015, Chennai faced severe flooding that submerged its international airport, threatening the critical Airport Management System (AMS) run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The AMS, hosted in Chennai, serves 10 airports and is essential for operations, passenger services, airline communications, and revenue generation. Its failure would force airports to resort to manual processes, severely impacting efficiency and safety. The AMS is crucial for operational safety, real-time passenger updates, and accurate resource usage reporting for airline billing. With the Chennai data center at risk, AAI faced the urgent challenge of recovering this vital system to maintain seamless airport operations across multiple locations.
Solution.
AI partnered with Coforge to implement a comprehensive disaster recovery plan for the Airport Management System. The approach included:
Defining strict availability SLAs
Enforcing quarterly DR test drills
Improving recovery readiness through mandatory successful tests and 48-hour DR site operations
Ensuring continuous DR site updates
This strategy enhanced AAI's disaster preparedness and quick recovery capabilities.
Coforge enhanced AAI's disaster recovery plan by exceeding specified requirements. We implemented:
Automated recovery workflows to beat SLAs, ensuring recovery within 15 minutes regardless of incident severity.
Near real-time data sync (every minute) to minimize data loss and maintain consistency.
Runtime validation of infrastructure dependencies to ensure faster recovery and avoid last-minute issues.
This approach addressed the challenge of human resource unavailability during disasters like the Chennai flood. By automating processes and maintaining stringent data sync and validation protocols, We created a robust system capable of rapid recovery with minimal data loss, ensuring consistent service across all stakeholders even in severe circumstances.
The Impact.
During the Chennai floods, AAI and Coforge demonstrated effective disaster recovery:
Rapid Recovery: AMS was operational at the Kolkata site within 11 minutes.
Continuity: Nine airports remained served while Chennai was down.
Adaptability: When MPLS networks failed, mobile networks were used for connectivity.
Successful Failover: The application was fully transferred to the backup system.
These outcomes prove the robustness of Coforge’s disaster recovery plan, showcasing quick thinking and effective crisis management in maintaining critical airport operations during a natural disaster.
