Upgrade overdue

Many people looking forward to a bank holiday getaway have had their plans ruined by the collapse of British Airways’ computer systems this weekend. Passengers at both Heathrow and Gatwick have had to endure days on departure lounge floors, and interminable queues for clear information – which all too often was not forthcoming. There is no way round it: this was an embarrassing and deeply damaging disruption for Britain’s flag carrier, and one that should not be allowed to happen again.

It is often said that reputations are long in the making but quick in the losing, but no less true for that. And BA seems to have an unfortunate knack for high-profile blow-outs that linger in the memory. Terminal 5 at Heathrow has now been open for almost a decade, but it is still widely associated with its opening-day turmoil in 2008. So BA must move purposefully to clean up this latest mess. That should start with passengers being swiftly and simply compensated; it piles misery upon misery if claims are tortuous to make and take for ever to be honoured. Beyond that, BA must look to improve both its computer systems and the way it delivers updates to passengers, too many of whom were left in the dark for too long.

Clearly, the rise in air travel has brought immense benefits to consumers, who are now able to travel in ways unthinkable to previous generations. But if airlines want this glut of new passengers – and the profits they bring – they must invest in the infrastructure to cope. British Airways must upgrade its systems, and other companies running vital services on creaky computers must learn from this lesson – or face fiasco in their turn.