British Airways has just recovered from a technical anomaly that led to major delays and cancellations at its main hub at London Heathrow on Wednesday.
The airline said the problem impacted its operations at Heathrow Terminal 5, and while it was resolved not long after, passengers complained over being stranded on their aircraft for hours, and at least two flights were diverted mid-air to London Gatwick.
“We’re working with our airport partners to assist passengers whose journeys have been disrupted and have deployed additional resource in our terminals,” said Heathrow on Twitter.
“Passengers are still advised to check their flight status with @British_Airways before travelling to the airport due to a number of resulting cancellations. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
According to tracking website FlightAware, 20 per cent of the company’s flights were delayed, but only one per cent were cancelled.
British Airways is experiencing IT problems, which is affecting the dispatch of flights.
Active BA flights today vs. same time yesterday. pic.twitter.com/2HafDECUoO
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 30, 2022
One customer said on Twitter that there was still no crew to help at Terminal 5 even after the issue had allegedly been fixed, and another said, “I’m still sitting on my plane which landed nearly two hours ago (15:50). I wouldn’t describe things as resolved …”
The UK Civil Aviation Authority responded to Heathrow’s tweet reminding the airline and airport’s responsibility amid delays and cancellations.
“If you are delayed, your airline has a duty of care for you, potentially including the provision of food and drinks, as well as accommodation if you are delayed overnight.”
According to the regulator, in some cases, an airline would be required to provide compensation to customers’ if their flight arrives at its intended destination more than three hours late.
The anomaly occurred only a month after a similar issue was reported in late February, when British Airways suffered a technical problem that impacted its website, app and airport operations.
The London-based carrier later said it was not a cyber attack, due to fears circulating that the issue was more sinister amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
