An ex-British Airways chief has said the airline is now ‘no better than easyJet’ after a 12-hour IT meltdown that has sparked 127 flight cancellations and an £8million compensation bill for 20,000 passengers.
The airline was branded ‘pathetic’ today after customers at Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Manchester, Edinburgh and Newcastle airports were told to ‘go home’ and reschedule after its check-in system collapsed again at 4.30am.
David Burnside, the former head of public affairs at BA from 1984 to 1994 ,who is due to fly with the airline later today from Heathrow, said ‘domestically BA is no better than easyJet.’
He said: ‘It feels like the wheels are coming off at BA. It’s still a top 20 international airline but in the 1980s BA was right at the top.
‘It’s glory days are well behind it. Domestically, BA is no better than easyJet and the other low-cost airlines, but BA isn’t low cost.’
The IT crash – the third in recent weeks – led to 127 cancellations and another 300 delays with BA unable to rule out ‘knock-on operational disruption’ could run into tomorrow.
BA denied it was a global IT outage but passengers across Europe and as far afield as Japan, India and the US were also grounded.
The airline faces a compensation bill in excess of £8million if all those affected claim what they are entitled to under EU rules as all 20,000 victims were promised a new flight by next Tuesday.
A spokesman said: ‘We have resolved the temporary systems issue from this morning which affected a number of our flights today. We apologise to all our customers caught up in the disruption, and appreciate how frustrating their experience has been. Our flights are returning to normal, however there may be some knock-on operational disruption as a result of the issue earlier’.
BA rolled out its ‘cost effective’ IT system in October 2015 – but since its launch it has caused a host of problems costing the company more than £100million and tarnishing its reputation.
Darren Rowe was among the passengers queuing at Heathrow Airport today where he described the situation as ‘chaos let loose’ and said BA’s response to the crisis was ‘pathetic’
At Gatwick people were unable to check-in with many told to go home and rebook on a new flight in the coming six days
An upset, and delayed, mother with young children demands answers from a member of BA staff at Heathrow T5 today
A young boy sleeps while leaning on a suitcase in Heathrow Terminal 5 today during another day of chaos for BA
BA’s latest IT failure – the third in recent weeks – has already led to 127 cancellations (pictured on Heathrow’s check-in boards) and led to more than 300 other delays at British airports and abroad
Architect Allan Ross says he been forced to spend £880 on new Ryanair tickets from Stansted after BA scrapped his Heathrow journey and only offered him a replacement flight later this week – meaning he’d miss a family wedding.
He told MailOnline: ‘We were not notified before we got to the airport. There was nobody giving any information. We grabbed a BA rep who told us to queue with 200 people. Five minutes later we were told to leave the airport and given a brochure about flight cancellation. We were referred back to the BA website which again was down, the phone numbers were jammed and we had no option but to book another flight from Stansted a few hours later, as we are attending family wedding and just needed to get there’.
After yet another IT meltdown at BA, it emerged:
- BA still working to fix ‘multiple’ problems with its IT systems after major crash;
- Thousands of passengers were affected after the airline axed 117 flights due to operate to or from Heathrow and 10 at Gatwick, while delaying more than 300 other flights on Wednesday.
- More flights to and from America, India, Japan and Europe were also delayed;
- Irate passengers stuck on grounded jets walked off them in protest – while families were left without food and water;
- Customers being told they can book on to new flights over the next six days but many say their holidays will already be ruined;
Family off to Barcelona only told their flight was cancelled AFTER they went through security
Furious bank manager Simon Chapman, 43, was due to travel from Heathrow to Barcelona with his children Violette, 14, and 11-year-old Jack.
He paid £350 for their tickets on the 9.25am flight – only to realise it had been cancelled after they went through security.
Mr Chapman then had to fork out £160 on a taxi from Heathrow to Gatwick, spending a total of £900 on flights and travel just today.
And staggeringly he was then told by workers they were not listed on the 2.40pm flight – after queuing for an hour and a half.
Mr Chapman, of Reading, Berks, said: ‘It’s unbelievable really. I booked this back in April.
‘We’d got through security and it was only by chance I looked at the information board and it said our flight was cancelled.
‘There were no more flights to Barcelona from Heathrow, so Gatwick was the closest place to book from.
‘I was told by BA staff at Heathrow to re-book and they would reimburse me, so I did.
‘Then when we got here, and after queuing for ages, they told me we’re not even on the flight.
‘I’ve forked out £900 more than I needed to spend and I’m not even seeing anything for it.
‘I just hope we get there today. I think there’s going to be a delay on the flight.’
Mr Chapman said he has also spent 200 euros on day trips while away, including a tour of FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium.
Today the airline apologised for the chaos and revealed it has already been forced to cancel 117 flights to or from Heathrow while 10 Gatwick flights were also shelved with a giant digital sign used to tell victims to ‘go home’ because short haul check-in is closed before Midday.
Darren Rowe, from the Cotswolds, said his 10.20am flight to Hamburg from Heathrow for business meetings was cancelled before ‘all chaos let loose’.
He said: ‘There were massive queues, it was queue here, queue there, nobody was saying anything. The lack of information was just pathetic’.
On top of the 127 cancellations more than 300 other flights were delayed, with some more than five hours behind schedule and problems expected all day.
Lines of people stuck at Gatwick and Heathrow check-in snaked around terminal buildings with James North, who is due to fly to Heraklion, Crete, today telling MailOnline: ‘It’s not the world favourite airline – it’s now the world biggest airline queue’.
Customers were also stuck at London City, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and other BA hubs in Britain – but passengers across Europe as well as in Japan, India and the US were also hit by delays or cancellations.
Irate passengers took to social media to vent their fury and revealed their dream family summer holidays and even their weddings could now be in ruins with many vowing ‘never to fly BA again’.
Parents with children also claimed they were treated ‘like cattle’ after being left stuck inside airport gates without access to food or water with no clue about if and when they could leave.
Matt Knopp wrote: ‘BA – wtf? Flight cancelled due to continuous system issues you seem totally inept to sort out for the past three years. Get a f**king grip!’
The IT failure – the third similar problem for BA in recent weeks – has stopped people getting away on holiday or even for their own weddings as many flights were either delayed or cancelled.
Laura Izzard tweeted: ‘What’s happening with the Pisa BA604 flight from Heathrow, screen just says please wait… no one can tell us anything …. Little stressed at the moment, especially as I am flying over to get married’.
Stephen Gibbons posted a photo of the cabin of a grounded jet meant to be flying from Scotland to London today and said: ‘Been stuck on the ground in Glasgow for an hour now. People finally just walking off the plane’.
And Cris Penfold wrote: ‘Sat on a @British_Airways plane which won’t take off – the crew don’t even know why. No idea when we will actually fly #pleasejusttakeoff #sortitout’.
There was chaos at Heathrow (pictured) and other BA hubs today as its IT systems failed again leaving 20,000 stranded
People complained of having to join queue after queue as they were checked in ‘manually’ for flights this afternoon
There was similar chaos at Gatwick where holidays and business trips were left in ruins with delays of in excess of five hours
One BA customer
Passengers on his flight from Newcastle to Heathrow were left milling around for two hours after their flight was grounded due to the ongoing IT problems – some stormed off
BA casualty Karthik Eyan was left sleeping on the floor at Heathrow after being told his summer flight has been delayed
BA customers flooded social media with tweets calling the situation ‘shambolic’ and ‘pure chaos’ and blasting the lack of information given up by the airline
BA customers flooded social media with tweets calling the situation ‘shambolic’ and ‘pure chaos’ and blasting the lack of information given up by the airline with many vowing ‘never to fly BA again’
Fire on London rail tracks causes more travel misery
Holidaymakers had faced a struggle even getting to Gatwick after the Gatwick Express train service from London Victoria was cancelled.
A fire on the tracks between Victoria and Clapham Junction saw all early-morning Southern and Gatwick Express trains cancelled.
‘Heavy residual delays’ were expected to drag on and commuters were advised not to travel to the rail station, Southern said.
Tim Willcox said passengers were ‘seething’ as he endured a ‘nightmare’ start to a planned short break in Nice, France, with his wife Najah.
The BBC presenter was stranded on the 5.30am Gatwick Express for 20 minutes outside Victoria, put on another train which was also cancelled, and, as a result, missed his 7.25am flight.
He told PA: ‘Most flights are now either fully booked or have shot up in price or involve stopovers.
‘I’m now on a bus. It’s just proving a bloody nightmare. I can’t afford to spend £1,000 on two flights.
‘We’ve got car hire waiting, a hotel booked. We’re now looking at flying to Paris and then flying from Paris to Nice.
‘There was a complete lack of communication from Gatwick Express, there was a very rude staff member who just wouldn’t answer questions. People were seething.’
The airline has been dogged by IT problems since upgrading its systems in 2017 with the worst failures hitting up to 75,000 people and costing owner AIG around £80 million.
On that occasion, the airline cancelled 726 flights due to a power failure, sparking a raft of compensation claims for flight costs, train and hotel expenses, replacement clothes and toiletries.
British Airways has said the systems problems has hit check-in and flight departures and customers will be offered alternative flights over the coming week.
In a statement, they 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.
‘We are offering customers booked on short-haul services departing from Heathrow, Gatwick and London City today, the opportunity to rebook to another day.
‘We are encouraging customers to check ba.com for the latest flight information, and to allow additional time at the airport.’
Frustrated passengers took to social media to vent their anger and demand answers from BA, while shared photos showed airport terminals filled with stranded travellers.
“There is no staff at the airport, we’re in an info queue that isn’t moving,” Anya, a BA passenger bound for Zagreb, Croatia, stated on Twitter.
“The only staff around are the duty free staff and they’ve been more helpful than anyone at BA. Get your act together #britishairways!”
A Heathrow spokesperson said BA was experiencing “a technical issue with its systems” impacting check-in and departures there.
“We are working to support the BA team and passengers impacted.
“We understand this is incredibly frustrating for passengers and encourage them to check with British Airways for the latest information.”
Huge queues formed at Heathrow Airport’s terminal 5 this morning as British Airways systems failed after yet another IT glitch
Queues in the South Terminal at Gatwick snaked towards the main entrance with people warned that there would be delays and cancellations until at least 3pm
Liz Waugh posted this photo of her ordeal while stuck on a plane at Bologna airport in Italy as BA grounded flights
Some people gave up and walked off planes going nowhere and complained that they were given no information from BA staff
The airline has apologised and said they will allow customers to rebook for another day in the coming week
People will be offered opportunity to rebook to another travel day between August 8 and August 13.
The problems first emerged at 4.30am this morning when BA customers tried to check-in for the first flights of the day across the UK.
At Gatwick the queue of BA passengers is nearly stretching outdoors on to the concourse at the airport’s South Terminal, with BA passengers being placed in a separate queue to other travellers.
Staff are guiding passengers on where to queue, and the moving walkway has been shut off.
One member of staff was overheard telling a passenger flying at 3pm to come back no earlier than 1pm to get into the departure lounge.
Melanie Dixon, 49, is travelling to Las Vegas for a four-day holiday with her three young children.
The hairdresser, from Dartford, Kent, said: ‘My app stopped working this morning and I had no idea why. I just thought it was a problem with mine.
‘I didn’t know what was causing the queue until now. We only arrived around 9am and it’s got bad really quickly.
‘This is our first holiday abroad as a family and it’s not got off to a good start. Once we’ve been waiting a bit longer the kids will start getting restless.
‘We were so excited, but this has put a bit of a downer on our holiday.
‘We just want to get through to departures so we can get some breakfast and drop our cases off, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.
‘It’s not going to be a good experience. BA have hundreds of flights everyday. They should be coping with this much better. You would hope they can sort it out quickly.’
Retired retail worker Denise Hiller, 59, is travelling to Tampa in Florida with husband John, 63, who used to work in oil refinery.
The couple, from Salisbury, Wilts, paid £1,300 for their flights and a hire car on the other side.
Mother of three Mrs Hiller said: ‘We’ve been here since about 8.50am, and we’re due to fly at 12pm but that doesn’t look likely.
‘This isn’t good for BA – it’s not the staff’s fault, but the problem shouldn’t be happening.
‘We’ve not been given any information on how long our flight is going to be delayed.
‘We’ve spent £1,300 on this, and now there’s not much we can do other than wait and hope we take off at some point.
‘When we walked in and saw the queue, it was like ‘oh great’.
‘And it’s the school holidays so it’s much worse. I really feel for the families travelling with young children – it’s awful for them.’
Video courtesy of CBS12.
Jon Rapoport, 54, is travelling to Lanzarote for 16 days from Gatwick with his wife and their two children.
The catering company boss, from Oxford, said: ‘Nobody knows what’s going on. I’m sure the staff are handling it as best they can, but there’s no information being given to us.
‘They’ve just told us to stand in the queue and that’s it.
‘There’s no information on the website either. It’s ridiculous. ‘First there was the strikes the other day, which I thought we’d been lucky to avoid, but then you get this.
‘I’ve actually checked-in on the app but I’m still being told to wait in the queue.
‘This is the last time I’ll be flying with BA. Why am I queuing? They’re not telling me anything’.
Today’s chaos came around a fortnight after people missed flights or were forced to take off without their luggage at Heathrow when a check-in system went into meltdown.
The chaos, a day before schools break up and ahead of threatened strikes by pilots, caused queues of up to two hours and delayed British Airways flights from Terminal Five.
Hundreds of suitcases were seen being piled up behind screens after a fault with the bag-drop early in the morning.
With the system still not working well into the afternoon, some passengers faced an agonising wait to see if their baggage would turn up at their destination.
Have you been hit by the BA delays? Email martin.robinson@mailonline.co.uk or call 02036151866