Monday evening turned into a nightmare for British Airways passengers as a major technical glitch caused widespread flight delays and cancellations. The airline’s IT systems experienced a significant outage, leaving planes grounded on the tarmac for hours and passengers stranded in airports with little information.
Communications Breakdown Leads to Chaos
The technical problems primarily affected British Airways’ communications systems, making it difficult for pilots and ground staff to coordinate departures. Planes loaded with passengers were unable to take off as pilots had not received crucial load sheet information and could not communicate with the airline’s headquarters at Heathrow Airport.
One passenger stuck on a plane in Naples shared, “The pilot said the system is now fixed but there is going to be a big delay. He has suggested we will be sat on the plane for 1 hour before departure.” Similar scenes played out at airports across British Airways’ network as the evening wore on with no resolution in sight.
Passengers Vent Frustrations Online
As delays stretched into multiple hours, angry passengers took to social media to express their discontent. Photos emerged of long queues snaking through airport terminals and crowds of people waiting on the tarmac to board their flights. “What has happened to the nation’s airline? Not fit for purpose,” lamented one traveler posting from Verona, Italy.
Many complained about the lack of communication and support from British Airways staff during the disruption. Passengers reported that the airline’s mobile app and website were also experiencing technical difficulties, showing error messages about “high demand” and preventing people from checking flight statuses or rebooking options.
“BA’s IT system failure is causing delays of 1-2 hours on many BA flights this evening. As delays build up, I fear there will be cancellations tonight and tomorrow,”
– Predicted travel journalist Simon Calder
Airline & Airport Scramble to Resolve Issues
In a statement, British Airways confirmed the IT outage was affecting some of their systems and causing flight delays, but insisted that “flights are continuing to operate” as teams worked to resolve the problems. The airline apologized to customers and said it was working to get passengers on their way as quickly as possible.
By late Monday evening, Heathrow Airport announced that the technical problems had been fixed, but significant residual delays persisted. Data from the airport showed flights departing from Terminal 5, British Airways’ main hub, were delayed by up to one hour and 25 minutes. There are concerns the knock-on effects could continue to impact the airline’s schedule into Tuesday.
Not the First Time for BA
Unfortunately, this is not the first time British Airways has faced major disruptions due to IT failures. The airline suffered a massive computer system outage in May 2017 that affected 75,000 passengers and led to the cancellation of 726 flights over three days. That incident was blamed on a power supply issue and cost the airline £80 million in compensation to customers.
In 2018, another IT glitch led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights and left tens of thousands of passengers stranded. And just this past February, British Airways experienced technical issues that caused dozens of flight delays and cancellations, again angering passengers.
With this latest incident, serious questions are again being raised about British Airways’ aging IT infrastructure and its vulnerability to repeated technical problems. The airline will need to make significant investments to modernize its systems and build in better redundancy to avoid such massive customer-impacting failures in the future.
Passenger Rights & What to Expect Next
For those passengers affected by yesterday’s disruptions, getting to their destinations will be the first priority. British Airways has said it will rebook customers onto alternative flights free of charge if necessary. Under UK and EU regulations, passengers may also be entitled to compensation if their flight was cancelled or delayed by more than three hours.
- For flights delayed by 2 or more hours, airlines must provide food and drink, access to phone calls or emails, and hotel accommodation if an overnight stay is required
- If a flight is delayed by more than 3 hours for reasons within the airline’s control, passengers can claim compensation of £220 for short flights and up to £520 for long-haul
- For flight cancellations, passengers must be offered a full refund or alternative transportation to their destination at the earliest opportunity, plus compensation of £110-£520 depending on flight distance
Going forward, British Airways has a lot of work to do to restore trust with passengers and demonstrate that it has learned from these repeated IT fiascos. Investments in modern, reliable technology will be critical. So too will be open, honest and proactive communication with customers during disruptions to minimize frustrations. Only then will BA shed its growing reputation for technical dysfunction.
