British Airways Passengers Face Chaos Due to IT Failure
Thousands of British Airways passengers are encountering delays and potential cancellations following a significant IT failure. Travelers at London Heathrow Terminal 5 and other international airports have reported issues with communication systems.
For instance, flight BA365 from Lyon to Heathrow experienced a delay of two hours and 40 minutes on the ground in France, rather than the expected one hour. The flight is now airborne but is likely to land over an hour behind schedule. In addition, the airline’s website, ba.com, and its app are inaccessible, displaying a message stating, “We are experiencing high demand on ba.com at the moment.”
The problem began around 5 pm GMT, resulting in outbound British Airways flights from Heathrow being delayed by up to two hours. Flights to various destinations such as Geneva, Larnaca, Vienna, Vancouver, and Dusseldorf have been affected. The 6 pm flight to New York JFK is anticipated to depart 90 minutes late, while domestic flights to and from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Newcastle are running over an hour behind schedule.
Arrivals from Continental airports are also experiencing delays of an hour or more, with some flights expected to land close to midnight from European cities like Barcelona and Prague. Passengers have taken to social media to express their frustrations, with one individual stuck in Vienna urging British Airways for updates on the IT outage.
It is crucial to address these IT issues promptly as any disruption can lead to flight cancellations due to restrictions on departure and arrival times at Heathrow Airport. The intricate air-traffic control operations at Heathrow necessitate a consistent flow of flights to operate efficiently, and any clustering of flights can result in widespread disruptions.
Moreover, passengers connecting to overnight flights at Heathrow may miss their connections due to delays. Long-haul flights like the BA11 to Singapore and inbound flights from Johannesburg are also experiencing delays, impacting subsequent connections. British Airways has confirmed that flights are operating but facing delays as teams work to resolve the technical problem affecting their systems.
Several BA flights serving London Heathrow on Tuesday have already been canceled, including routes to and from Geneva, Milan Malpensa, and Nice. This recent IT failure adds to British Airways’ history of IT-related disruptions, with previous incidents affecting thousands of passengers over holiday weekends in 2023 and 2017.
Passengers are advised to stay updated on their flight statuses and make necessary arrangements in light of the ongoing IT issues at British Airways. The airline is working to address the problem and minimize disruptions for affected travelers.
