The airline has been struggling with problems since Friday evening. On Saturday morning she had to cancel all short- and medium-haul flights from Heathrow. The airline asked the airport to close the terminal.
“Some British Airways flights” have to be canceled due to technical problems, according to the website of London Heathrow Airport. On the British Airways website, there is talk of “a series” of flights. In fact, the situation looks a bit more dramatic. A look at the departures shows that the airline canceled all short and medium-haul flights from the hub in the morning.
Arriving short- and medium-haul flights were also listed as canceled. The situation only seems to have recovered a bit since 12 p.m. There are still cancellations, but more and more European flights are taking place. According to the British media, the major failure has also led to luggage piling up and some customers being stuck on the planes following landing at Heathrow.
Over 200 flights affected
A total of more than 200 flights were affected. According to the Paddle you Own Kanoo portal, Heathrow Airport said British Airways had asked it to restrict access to the terminals because thousands of passengers were stranded and had nowhere to go. As a result, the airline feared Terminal 5 might become dangerously overcrowded.
British Airways warned passengers to stay away from the airport as there were no staff available to help with rebookings. Instead, passengers were asked to check the airline’s website for rebooking options.
British Airways denies hack attack
The airline was already struggling with problems on Friday evening. The website was unavailable and there were delays and flight cancellations. The airline told Britain’s Guardian that the problem might also cause delays for travelers departing from Gatwick and London City airports.
British Airways said it was not a hacker attack. The failures are due to a hardware problem. However, the airline does not go into detail. “We know we disappointed our customers and we will do everything we can to make up for it – but for now our focus is on getting as many customers and flights as possible.”
