AIRPORT CHAOS AS FLIGHTS GROUNDED
COMPENSATION BILL COULD BE ENORMOUS
BRITISH Airways flights to and from Newcastle International Airport were cancelled yesterday after a massive computer outage.
The airline cancelled all flights – both domestic and international – from Gatwick and Heathrow.
Scores of Britons were stranded as they tried to fly overseas for the long weekend and half-term school holidays.
Several passengers at Heathrow said they had not been told their flights were cancelled until more than an hour after the airline put out a press statement announcing the decision.
There were British Airways flights scheduled to arrive at Newcastle from London Heathrow at 2.45pm, 7pm, and 10.05pm. Departures from Newcastle to Heathrow were due to be at 3.35pm and 7.45pm.
British Airways said a “power supply issue” was probably behind a global IT failure.
Chief executive Alex Cruz added: “We have no evidence of any cyber attack.”
BA said delays could continue into today, but most long-haul flights should be able to land as normal in London.
Newcastle International Airport recommended that passengers keep in contact with BA via their website and social media accounts.
Frustrated passengers at London’s two main airports complained of huge queues at check ins and say they’ve been left unable to use the airline’s website or app.
Pictures posted on social media also showed holidaymakers onboard a plane waiting to be allowed to disembark a flight, while others were left stranded on runways.
British Airways could be facing huge compensation costs over the chaos. Delayed travellers are able to claim compensation under EU law, unless the disruption has been caused by factors outside the airline’s control.
Malcolm Ginsberg, editor in chief at Business Travel News, said: “There is no question - the EU denied-boarding regulations will have to apply. They have broken all the rules and they will have to deal with it - it’s going to be a very expensive situation for BA.”
At Heathrow, passengers said they had been left in the dark. Terry Page, 28, from London, said: “The boards are showing ‘Go to gate’ and no mention of cancellations.”
More than an hour later, he said cancellations of individual flights were still being announced. Footage filmed at the terminal showed long queues at customer services, after passengers had been advised that they would be unable to rebook due to systems remaining down.
Student Emily Wilson said she had been advised “we are unable to get bags, and that no more flights are taking off”, several hours after having arrived at the airport for her flight to Stockholm.
Ms Wilson added: “We were told (it would be) about three hours for collecting bags, that all compensation will have to be done online, and that we are unable to rebook flights now because of the system being down.”
She said that information on screens still suggested her flight could board shortly, but that staff contradicted that information.
The airline has experienced issues with its online check-in systems in the past. Passengers were hit by severe delays in September and July last year because of IT glitches.