Giant IT crash grounds f lights

BRITISH Airways had to cancel scores of flights across the world yesterday due to a ‘catastrophic’ computer crash.

The carrier apologised for the meltdown, though it denied speculation of a cyber attack, instead blaming a ‘power supply issue’.

But IT experts criticised the airline’s computer system, which has crashed worldwide several times since it was updated last year.

The worst-affected airports were Heathrow and Gatwick but the impact was felt around the world. Dublin Airport Authority said two BA flights from Dublin to Heathrow were cancelled yesterday.

The crash coincides with a UK bank holiday weekend, meaning thousands of families have been left stranded.

Travel experts said BA had suffered a ‘massive, unprecedented system outage’ that would have ‘a huge knock-on effect for passengers for days to come’.

Nearly 300 flights were cancelled worldwide, affecting tens of thousands of travellers. Passengers in the UK, the US, Rome, Lisbon, Milan, Stockholm and Malaga were among those forced to sit for hours in aircraft stranded on the tarmac.

Others told of confusion at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 as they were stuck in massive queues after being unable to check in online – with many missing those flights that did depart earlier in the day.

As the congestion grew, BA warned passengers to stay away from Heathrow and Gatwick, eventually having to cancel all flights until midnight last night.

BA apps and parts of its website were not working for several hours. Staff were forced to write the limited flight information they had on white boards after digital systems and tannoys failed.

Brian Lord, a leading cyber security expert, said: ‘This is the sixth time BA’s systems have gone down and suggests they are vulnerable to hackers in a way similar to the NHS.

‘You’d expect a multinational operating a 24-hour service to be a lot more robust than this.’