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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/07/british-airways-it-glitch-causes-disruption-for-passengers-delays
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| British Airways IT glitch causes chaos for holidaymakers | British Airways IT glitch causes chaos for holidaymakers |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Thousands of British Airways passengers have been affected by cancellations and delays across Europe after a systems failure. | Thousands of British Airways passengers have been affected by cancellations and delays across Europe after a systems failure. |
| London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and City were the main airports affected by the glitch on Wednesday. By early afternoon, BA had cancelled 138 flights and another 260 had been delayed, according to the tracking site Flightstats. | |
| As many as 35,000 passengers may have been affected by the disruption, based on BA’s average load factor for UK flights, of which 15,000 may be eligible for compensation, according to Airhelp, a flight compensation website. | |
| BA said the systems failures occurred only at the London airports but had knock-on effects elsewhere, including at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast. The airline said it had moved to back-up manual systems to keep some flights operating. | |
| Customers experienced difficulties checking in online, and queues formed in airport departure areas. Some social media users reported that the food and drink service was affected on flights that did take off. | |
| Air travel experts said the airline may be liable to pay compensation to affected passengers, on top of refunding them the ticket price. Under EU law, some passengers whose flights are cancelled or delayed by two hours or more can be given compensation. | Air travel experts said the airline may be liable to pay compensation to affected passengers, on top of refunding them the ticket price. Under EU law, some passengers whose flights are cancelled or delayed by two hours or more can be given compensation. |
| BA said it was offering customers the chance to move bookings to another travel day between 8 and 13 August. | |
| When an airline starts cancelling or delaying flights for more than three hours, passengers are entitled to compensation of €250-€600 under EU rules. | When an airline starts cancelling or delaying flights for more than three hours, passengers are entitled to compensation of €250-€600 under EU rules. |
| The cause of the problem has to be under the airline’s control and not an “extraordinary circumstance”. Lack of planes/staff, flight overbooking, a strike by the airline’s staff or an IT failure are all considered to be within the airline’s control – so compensation is payable. | The cause of the problem has to be under the airline’s control and not an “extraordinary circumstance”. Lack of planes/staff, flight overbooking, a strike by the airline’s staff or an IT failure are all considered to be within the airline’s control – so compensation is payable. |
| Passengers on cancelled short-haul flights – up to 1,500km – are entitled to €250 or £230. For flights of 1,500km-3,500km duration, passengers are entitled to €400 (£370) or €600 (£555) for the longest flights (more than 3,500km). | Passengers on cancelled short-haul flights – up to 1,500km – are entitled to €250 or £230. For flights of 1,500km-3,500km duration, passengers are entitled to €400 (£370) or €600 (£555) for the longest flights (more than 3,500km). |
| Compensation is also payable in the event that the plane is delayed. The payments are the same but only kick in when the plane has been delayed three hours for short flights or four hours for the longer trips. The delay is calculated against the time the plane was due to arrive. | Compensation is also payable in the event that the plane is delayed. The payments are the same but only kick in when the plane has been delayed three hours for short flights or four hours for the longer trips. The delay is calculated against the time the plane was due to arrive. |
| Passengers are also entitled to “assistance” under the EU rules. Short-haul passengers should receive food and water after two hours. Mid-distance passengers get help after three hours, while long-haul passengers receive it after they have been held in the terminal for four hours. If the delay is overnight, passengers should be provided with hotel accommodation but this often does not happen. This assistance should be provided irrespective of whether the delay is the airline’s fault. | Passengers are also entitled to “assistance” under the EU rules. Short-haul passengers should receive food and water after two hours. Mid-distance passengers get help after three hours, while long-haul passengers receive it after they have been held in the terminal for four hours. If the delay is overnight, passengers should be provided with hotel accommodation but this often does not happen. This assistance should be provided irrespective of whether the delay is the airline’s fault. |
| The airlines have fought these compensation rules since they were introduced and passengers have had to go to court to get their money. The airlines frequently blame delays on events outside their control. Freak weather events, or a last- minute strike by air traffic controllers are deemed to be outside their control. A lack of planes or staff is not. | The airlines have fought these compensation rules since they were introduced and passengers have had to go to court to get their money. The airlines frequently blame delays on events outside their control. Freak weather events, or a last- minute strike by air traffic controllers are deemed to be outside their control. A lack of planes or staff is not. |
| The rules only apply to EU-based airlines or all flights that start in the EU on non-EU based carriers. What will happen post-Brexit is not yet clear. Miles Brignall | The rules only apply to EU-based airlines or all flights that start in the EU on non-EU based carriers. What will happen post-Brexit is not yet clear. Miles Brignall |
| About half of the BA flights scheduled to depart from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 between 9.30am and midday were cancelled or delayed, according to the airport’s website. | |
| The airline said: “We are working as quickly as possible to resolve a systems issue which has resulted in some short-haul cancellations and delays from London airports. A number of flights continue to operate but we are advising customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information before coming to the airport.” | The airline said: “We are working as quickly as possible to resolve a systems issue which has resulted in some short-haul cancellations and delays from London airports. A number of flights continue to operate but we are advising customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information before coming to the airport.” |
| @British_Airways @BBCNews - here we go again! Chaos! This is only half of one queue! My flight cancelled as are 100’s of others. I had checked-in so need my bag back - others told as checked-in can’t leave T5 without checking out! Happy 100th anniversary #BA pic.twitter.com/xr0DRUieQh | @British_Airways @BBCNews - here we go again! Chaos! This is only half of one queue! My flight cancelled as are 100’s of others. I had checked-in so need my bag back - others told as checked-in can’t leave T5 without checking out! Happy 100th anniversary #BA pic.twitter.com/xr0DRUieQh |
| This week BA flights were among a total of 177 flights cancelled and then reinstated because of threatened industrial action at Heathrow. The strikes, originally due to be begin at midnight on Monday, were suspended to allow for further talks between union and airport officials. | |
| BA faces separate strike action from pilots. In a ballot of the pilots’ union Balpa, 93% of the airline’s 4,000 pilots voted in favour of taking industrial action after rejecting a three-year pay deal. | |
| Flights cancelled by @British_Airways - chaos here at @HeathrowAirport | Flights cancelled by @British_Airways - chaos here at @HeathrowAirport |
| BA has in the past been hit by severe computer system failures that have left passengers stranded around the world. In 2017 during the May bank holiday weekend, 75,000 passengers were stranded at Gatwick and Heathrow. | |
| On Monday almost 200 passengers were evacuated from a BA flight to Valencia after smoke filled the cabin. | |
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