LONDON: British Airways (BA) has apologised after an IT issue caused the cancellations of domestic and European flights on Friday as Britain heads into the Bank Holiday weekend, reported German news agency (dpa).
There were more than 50 cancelled BA flights departing Heathrow on Friday with the airline urging passengers to check their flight status before going to the airport.
There were also more than 20 flights that had been cancelled, or currently delayed that were meant to land at Heathrow.
Some flights that are due to depart Friday evening have been delayed, adding to travellers’ stress.
A statement from BA released just before 10 pm on Friday said: “We’re aware of a technical issue which we have been working hard to fix.
“Due to high call volumes, please only contact us if you’re due to travel in the next 48 hours.”
A tweet from BA at 11.27 pm on Thursday said their “systems are back up and running” but there might still be “intermittent issues”.
A spokesperson from Heathrow Airport said the cancellations are not due to airport strikes.
“British Airways is currently working to resolve a technical issue with a number of its systems. We have additional Heathrow colleagues on-hand in the terminals to provide passengers with any additional assistance required.”
Customers can receive refunds, re-book, or if they have to stay overnight, they will be offered meals and hotel accommodation.
One Twitter user, who was at the airport at 7 pm, said: “Almost all BA flights from LHR T5 cancelled tonight. No info. About four people at BA desks trying to deal with the chaos.
“Come on BA, you can do better than this. You are supposed to be the UK’s flagship.”
The delays and cancellations are expected to continue on Saturday. – BERNAMA-dpa
