Grounded BA fears £150m compo
Travel chaos for 1,000s of passengers Meltdown is of Vesuvius proportions
BRITISH Airways passengers were plunged into travel misery yesterday when a computer meltdown grounded or delayed hundreds of flights.
All flights out of Heathrow and Gatwick were cancelled from lunchtime onwards when BA’s global computer systems suffered a “major IT system failure”.
The delays are likely to continue through the bank holiday weekend as thousands of Brits try to head overseas.
Last night experts warned the blunder could see BA hit with a huge compo bill.
James Walker, of the Resolver claims website, said with average claims of £300 and the cost of overnight stays: “The price of payouts could top £150million. It may be the biggest compensation payout ever.”
Furious pilots and union bosses blamed the problems on BA’s efforts to cut costs by outsourcing IT work abroad last year.
Some passengers reported that gate staff at Gatwick said BA systems had been hacked by cyber attackers – a claim was swiftly denied by officials.
Children were seen crying in Heathrow’s packed departure lounges as their parents waited for answers.
Travellers also complained of l ong delays at airports i n c l u d i n g Belfast, YOU’D have thought BA stood for British Airways, after this shambles it looks much more like it’s B****r All for flights.
As monumental travel fiascos go this is astonishing. In 2010 ash clouds from an unpronounceable volcano in Iceland brought aviation in the UK to its knees.
Now tens of thousands of leisure and business passengers have had their plans Rome, Lisbon, Prague, Stockholm, Malaga and in the US.
Many complained on social media. TV presenter Christine Bleakley, 38, stuck on board a plane on a runway, posted a photo to Instagram, taken through a cabin window, showing several grounded planes.
It was captioned: “The computer says no!! What a day to travel #britishairways #chaos”. And Strictly Come Dancing’s Giovanni Pernice had to ditch an appearance in Aberdeen after ter his flight was cancelled.
Passenger Henry Tail, tweeted:ed: “Hey @British-Airways, couldn’t’t log in to the app with my boarding pass on because systems were down and I missed my flight. What can I do?”
Fed-up fliers spoke of “dis- graceful” customer service, withth staff giving out “no information”on”
A BA spokeswoman said outsourcsourcing was “common practice” in all industries. BA said it was trying to get customers on the next a available flights and offer full refund refunds to those unable to fly.
It exp expected most long- haul flights d due to land in London tomorrow as normal. The spokeswoman said: “We are extremely sorry forfo the inconvenience.”
The chaos comes days after BA ch chief exec Alex Cruz boasted t to a trade magazine how
“digita “digital is in his DNA”. left in tatters after a catastrophic computer meltdown of Vesuvius proportions. And it really is a perfect storm of travel chaos. It just had to happen on the first day of the half-term getaway. This is such a massively important time for thousands of hard- working British families just heading off the sunshine. It has brought down the country’s major flag carrier, one of the world’s most prestigious airlines.
I feel sorry for the frontline BA staff facing passengers’ deep and justified anger. It could also take several days for the airline and affected airports to recover.