Travellers at the BA check-in counter at Madrid airport in Spain.
British Airways cancels London flights over 'IT crash'
LONDON, May 27, 2017
British Airways on Saturday cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports because of "a major IT system failure" leading to chaos and confusion at airports across the world, reported BBC.
Delays have also been reported in Rome, Prague, Milan, Stockholm and Malaga due to the system failure.
However, authorities were quick to dismiss reports suggesting that it could be an cyber attack.
A "major IT system failure is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide", the British airline stated.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the London airports because of "extreme congestion" at the terminals, with all BA planes grounded before 6pm on Saturday.
It apologised for the "global system outage" and said it was "working to resolve the problem".
Heathrow Airport said it was "working closely" with BA to solve the issue.
There is no evidence at this stage to suggest the system failure was caused by a cyber attack, the British flag carrier told BBC.
All passengers affected by the failure - which coincides with the first weekend of the half-term holiday for many in the UK - will be offered the option of rescheduling or a refund, it stated.
The airline, which had previously said flights would be cancelled until 18:00 BST, has now cancelled all flights for Saturday and asked passengers not to come to Gatwick or Heathrow airports.
Some passengers have reported having to leave Heathrow without their luggage, reported BBC.
The problems mean parts of BA's website are unavailable and some travellers claimed they could not check in on the mobile app.
BA aircraft landing at Heathrow are unable to park up as outbound aircraft cannot vacate the gates, which has resulted in passengers being stuck on aircraft, said the BBC report.
BA staff in Heathrow's Terminal 5 were resorting to using white boards, it added.
