British Airways apologises for 'total chaos' due to system failure
British Airways customers have spoken of “total chaos” at Heathrow and Gatwick this morning as the airline said it was experiencing another systems failure.
BA has apologised to passengers at the airport, saying there were “some issues” with its check-in system.
We're experiencing some issues with our check-in system this morning, Onurr. We're sorry for any inconvenience this is causing. ^Leanne
— British Airways (@British_Airways) August 2, 2017
The airline said the problem had now been resolved, with staff working "flat out" to help customers, some of whom described scenes of "absolute carnage" at Terminal 5.
@British_Airways T5 is absolute carnage with systems down!! Very unhappy customers left right and centre. #stillqueuing
— Amanda Jayne Porter (@amandajaynep123) August 2, 2017
Total disorganisation @British_Airways at Heathrow. Stood in a queue for nearly 2 hours. Pretty sure I'll miss my flight thanks to you guys
— Sarah Ashdown (@sarah_ashdown) August 2, 2017
Oh no, looks like @British_Airways experiencing IT issues again. Stuck on the runway for an hour now.
— Peter Musumeci (@PeterMusumeci) August 2, 2017
@British_Airways Missed my 7:15 flight because BA couldn't print my boarding pass due to IT failure. Didn't even have baggage to check in.
— Steve Blake (@steveblake9) August 2, 2017
@britishairways you have failed. pic.twitter.com/VG8op6atGO
— Action-Med Sarah (@Saaartjie) August 2, 2017
A BA spokesman said: "Customers are being checked in as normal after an earlier problem was resolved. We are sorry for the temporary check-in problems which caused some delays for our customers first thing this morning.
"This issue is now resolved and our staff are working flat out to help customers get away on their holidays."
The delays for passengers trying to leave the country this morning come as holidaymakers are being warned they face lengthy delays at European airports due to tightened border checks.
Passengers at airports popular with British tourists have been forced to wait in queues for up to four hours, which is longer than some of their flights.
The delays are reportedly being caused by the introduction of more time consuming immigration checks.
Michael O'Leary says the European border agency can't cope with long queues due to staffing issues
The problem - at what is traditionally already the busiest time of the year for flights - is being made worse by a lack of border officials on the continent, it is claimed.
An association representing airlines said queues stretching for "hundreds of metres" are in some cases causing passengers to miss their flights.
It warned that "shameful" queues can be expected at airports including Madrid, Palma, Lisbon, Lyons, Paris Orly, Milan and Brussels. Some flight delays have increased by 300pc in a year, it claimed.
The latest technical problem for BA comes just months after an estimated 75,000 passengers were grounded by a systems failure that Willie Walsh, the head of parent company IAG, admitted had damaged the airline’s reputation.
Mr Walsh said last week that the investigation into the power failure in May was nearly complete, as IAG reported a surge in profits.
IAG profits rose more than 2pc in the first half of the year, to £872m.
