British Airways cancels flights due to computer issues

British Airways passengers are facing a weekend of severe travel disruption after a “technical issue” forced the UK flag carrier to cancel around 160 flights on Thursday and Friday and many more were badly delayed, Report informs, citing Financial Times.

The problems, mainly with short-haul flights to and from the airline’s London Heathrow hub, came as passengers prepared get away during the coming half-term holiday week for many schools. Cancellations on Friday evening suggested at least some disruption would continue into Saturday as aircraft and flight crews were wrongly positioned overnight.

A person familiar with the airline’s operations said 30 flights from Heathrow were cancelled on Friday, leading to the scrapping of 60 round trips. Another 20 arrivals at Heathrow were cancelled because outbound flights on Thursday had not been operated. Friday’s disruptions came after around 80 flights were also scrapped on Thursday. Some flights were delayed because computer problems prevented passengers from checking in online at home and had instead to queue at the airport.

British Airways said it had apologised to passengers whose flights had been affected and offered them the option to rebook an alternative flight with BA or another carrier, or seek a refund. The airline normally operates about 850 flights daily.