London24NEWS

Heathrow Airport: Thousands of passengers have their flights cancelled

Thousands of passengers have their flights cancelled as ‘technical issue’ hits British Airways at Heathrow Airport

  • At least 50 BA flights were cancelled yesterday afternoon with more delayed
  • BA did not state the problem but it is said to be an IT issue about plane status

Thousands of travellers have had their flights cancelled following a ‘technical issue’ hitting British Airways flights out of Heathrow.

At least 50 BA flights were cancelled yesterday afternoon, while a large number of inbound flights were delayed for more than an hour.

BA did not specify what the problem was but it is believed to be related to the airline’s computer systems showing the status of planes.

The airline said: ‘While the majority of our flights have continued to operate today, we have had to cancel a number of Heathrow flights due to a technical issue.

‘Affected customers have been contacted and offered options, including a refund or rebooking to an alternative flight with us or another carrier.

At least 50 BA flights were cancelled yesterday afternoon, while a large number of inbound flights were delayed for more than an hour

At least 50 BA flights were cancelled yesterday afternoon, while a large number of inbound flights were delayed for more than an hour

‘We are extremely sorry to our customers for the inconvenience caused.’

It came as strikes and staff shortages threaten to wreak havoc for travellers at Heathrow over the bank holiday. 

Many security staff are involved in a three-day walkout while, separately, a shortage of workers in baggage handling and managing aircraft was causing problems yesterday.

And the RAC is predicting it will also be the busiest late May Bank Holiday on the roads in years.