British Airways has cancelled 81 flights due to leave London’s Heathrow airport, and 10 from Gatwick, the airline confirmed on Wednesday morning.
More than 200 other flights have been delayed, with some more than five hours behind schedule, following problems with the airline’s IT systems.
A spokesman said: “We are working as quickly as possible to resolve a systems issue which has resulted in some short-haul cancellations and delays from
London airports.
“A number of flights continue to operate but we are advising customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information before coming to the airport.”
British Airways passengers began reporting delays and cancelled flights on Wednesday morning.
Images posted on social media showed long queues of holidaymakers at Heathrow and Gatwick, while other passengers shared error messages that had appeared on the BA app.Chaos at Heathrow. Huge queues. 6 empty service desks unmanned by BA. @BritishAirwaysT #worlds worst airline. @HeathrowAirport pic.twitter.com/naWgFfykJs— Paul Trickett (@trickett1956) August 7, 2019Major computer failure with
British Airways at Gatwick this morning. This is the queue for the queue at check in. Currently stuck on ground cos pilot can't get data. Set off early if you have a flight pic.twitter.com/hL37TGRJ70— David Hewson (@david_hewson) August 7, 2019This @britishairways app error message must have taken weeks to design pic.twitter.com/nLv4CGXYD8— Chris Lowndes (@chrislowndes) August 7, 2019The airline is using back-up and manual systems to try and cope with the issues.
They’re also offering short-haul passengers departing from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City the chance to re-book to another flight between Thursday and next Tuesday.
Passengers whose travel plans have been affected should be entitled to compensation, advice service money.co.uk has said.
Aashna Shroff, a personal finance expert for the site, advises: “In the unfortunate event that your flight is cancelled, you will be entitled to: a full refund; or an alternative flight to your destination from a nearby airport, with the airline responsible for additional travel costs; or an alternative flight on a later date.“If you experience a significant delay - whether flying from or to the
UK - due to an airline IT outage, the airline is required to make your wait a comfortable one, including providing food and drink, phone calls, and even accommodation, if necessary.”This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.