Computer meltdown hits BA at Heathrow

BRITISH Airways passengers reported long delays and flight cancellations last night after the airline suffered a problem with its computer systems.

Passengers said that planes operated by the airline were not taking off from London’s Heathrow airport, amid reports on social media of aircraft being delayed across Europe.

BA customers arriving at Heathrow Terminal 5 were reportedly told that a computer system failure had halted all British Airways flights. They were also reportedly advised to book overnight accommodation or seek alternative travel arrangements. There were also reports that the airline’s online checkin service had failed.

BA said in a statement: “As with a number of airlines we are experiencing some disruption at Heathrow a result of an issue with a supplier IT system.

“We are working with our supplier to resolve the matter and are sorry for the disruption to our customers’ travel plans.”

A spokesman for Heathrow, said: “We are aware that British Airways is currently experiencing an issue which is impacting their ability to provide boarding passes to some passengers. We will be working with the airline to support their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

The IT system failure comes just over a year after a computer meltdown forced the airline to cancel 726 flights over three days, leaving 75,000 passengers stranded and costing the company around £100million.

Last May’s IT failure, which also came at the start of a busy holiday period, sparked intense criticism of the company and its management, made worse by frustration over the absence of information handed out to customers by British Airways staff.

BA blamed that glitch on an electrical technician who was employed by an outside supplier for shutting down an “uninterruptible power supply” located in the plant room of the company’s London data centre.

The delays yesterday came after an earlier fire alert at Heathrow’s air traffic control tower briefly forced flights to be diverted to other airports.

It “impacted operation of the airfield for a short while” on Wednesday afternoon, according to the airport.