Union blames British Airways computer crash on outsourcing to India, as fresh disruptions hit Heathrow

Passengers faced a third day of disruption at Heathrow airport on Monday as British Airways cancelled short-haul flights after a global computer crash that unions blamed on the outsourcing of IT services to India.

The embattled airline said it was cancelling 17 short-haul flights from Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, but was aiming to operate a full long-haul schedule from the hub. It said it was operating a full service from Gatwick Airport.

Tens of thousands of passengers were left stranded over a busy holiday weekend in Britain after BA scrapped hundreds of flights worldwide.

The knock-on effects could continue for several days, with numerous flights still delayed.

The airline urged passengers on Monday to check their flight status online before travelling to the airport in a bid to avoid scenes seen over the weekend when people camped out at Heathrow overnight.

BA chief executive Alex Cruz told the BBC he would not resign over the disruption and said it had nothing to do with cutting costs.