British Airways had to cancel at least 60 flights due to a system failure, leaving thousands of people stranded and many others without their bags.
The airline’s website and booking systems were also impacted by the IT meltdown, which also severely delayed departures and arrivals.
This is the most recent in a string of system failures that have plagued British Airways in recent years, including those that caused days of confusion and cost the company millions of pounds in compensation payments.
The day before what is projected to be Heathrow’s biggest travel day—the beginning of a bank holiday weekend and half-term getaway—dozens of short-haul flights have been cancelled, along with a few long-haul aircraft.
The airline reported a technical problem this afternoon and stated its “teams are working hard to resolve” it. We appreciate our clients’ understanding and sorry for the trouble.
Heathrow has seen the start of long lines as stranded passengers look for alternate flights, while many arriving passengers are unable to get off their planes.
Some of the cities that will be unavailable as Heathrow departure points are Vienna, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Venice, Rome, Hamburg, Aberdeen, and Milan. Cancellations on long-haul routes include stops in Boston, New York JFK, and Mumbai.
Passengers whose flights were cancelled at Heathrow were instructed by recorded announcements to make hotel reservations and wait to be refunded.
British Airways flights at London Gatwick were also affected by the delays.
Customers were unable to check in for flights or access their current bookings or accounts during the brief outage as a result.
This year marked British Airways’ first profitable year since 2019.
Despite losing £660 million in the first quarter of 2022, IAG, the parent company of Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling, turned a profit of £7.9 million in the first quarter of 2023. The company expects a busy summer.
British Airways has assured its passengers that standard check-in procedures will be followed.
British Airways is experiencing technical difficulties, which are affecting some of their departures and arrivals at Heathrow Airport. Please contact British Airways or your travel agency for information on flight delays.
