British Airways faces passenger anger as tens of thousands hit by computer failure
- Company refuses to reveal number of flights affected, but tracking website lists 140 cancelled and 370 delayed
- London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and City were the airports most affected by glitch, but knock-on effects were felt elsewhere in Britain and Europe
British Airways faced passenger anger on Wednesday as more than 500 flights were cancelled or delayed as a result of a systems failure.
In the latest in a series of operational problems to hit the airline, and the travel plans of tens of thousands with holiday and business plans, London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and City were the airports most affected by the computer failure.
The airline refused to reveal the number of flights affected but according to Flightstats.com, which tracks arrivals and departures, by 5.30pm the airline had cancelled 140 flights and a further 370 had been delayed.
BA said its latest systems failures affected only the London airports, but the disruption had knock-on effects elsewhere, including at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast and in many European destinations when incoming flights failed to arrive.
Customers experienced difficulties checking in online, and queues formed in airport departure areas as the airline moved to manual systems to keep flights operating.