British Airways: Computer problems hit passengers

Summary

All British Airways flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday are cancelled
Computer problems are being blamed for causing the disruption
BA apologised for the "global system outage"
The carrier said it was "working to resolve the the problem as quickly as possible"
Passengers are being urged not to travel to Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday

Live Reporting

Tom Bateman

Watch: Danish football commentator stuck on BA planepublished at 13:16 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
He was meant to fly in for the FA Cup final tonight...
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Rough translation from Danish - there's "chaos on British Airways" and they've been "waiting for a while."
Breaking: British Airways cancels all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airportspublished at 13:13 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
The airline says all flights departing London Heathrow and Gatwick before 18:00 BST are cancelled due to a "major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide."
Online check in affectedpublished at 13:08 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
A BA passenger tweets...
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Watch: BA Captain addresses passengers in Romepublished at 13:01 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
The BBC's Phillip Norton tweets...
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BA Captain: Logjam at Heathrowpublished at 13:00 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
BBC journalist Phillip Norton is waiting for a flight at Fiumicino Airport in Rome.
Here's what he's learned so far:
"The Captain of BA flight 553 from Rome Fiumicino to Heathrow has addressed passengers about the IT failure.
"Key points: It's a failure of the main system which lists passengers/baggage that are to go on each flight.
"It's affecting all flights globally - BA aircraft landing at Heathrow are unable to park as outbound aircraft unable to leave to vacate the gates. As a result, passengers are unable to leave aircraft, and many have been stuck for hours.
"He had no idea when the problem will be resolved, and advised passengers to check back in an hour."
'People stopped from coming in to Terminal 5'published at 12:54 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
BA passenger tweets
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Pic: No staff at Heathrow boarding gatespublished at 12:51 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
A BA passenger tweets...
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Stories: BA passengers stranded around the worldpublished at 12:50 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
Image source, Getty Images
Daniel Anderson writes:
"Problems here at Logan in Boston. BA checked us in using backup system, but said to stand by for announcements."
Steve Silk emails:
"My girlfriend and I are stuck at Barcelona airport after a very lengthy check in. No one seems to know what is happening or when the flight will take off. We may need to resort to more tapas and sangria to ease the pain."
Shadrach Haruna emails:
"I have been waiting at Vienna International Airport for a BA 697 flight of 11:55. Been informed of massive computer failure as asked to wait for further instructions. Nothing in sight yet."
Donald Hauta writes:
"We are stuck in a boarding lounge in Milan. BA has not even sent anyone to explain the situation. We are told by passport control that we cannot leave the small area we are in."
Laila Aslam emails:
"Stuck in Zagreb, captain made the announcement in person and then walked around the airport to locate passengers to provide 1 on 1 info and answer any questions although answers were slim given no one knows what has happened."
Baggage chaos at Heathrowpublished at 12:45 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
A BA passenger tweets...
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Delays on flights to Heathrowpublished at 12:39 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
BA passengers tweet...
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Check your flight status before going to the airportpublished at 12:32 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
Heathrow Airport tweets...
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Working to resolve the problempublished at 12:25 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
British Airways tweets...
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Delays affecting flights to the UKpublished at 12:23 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
The BA system outage isn't just affecting flights departing from UK airports.
Alma Saffari is in Marseille waiting to get a flight back to Heathrow with her 13-month-old baby.
She says: “Our flight was due to leave at 11.10am. There were issues from the start as check in took a very long time."
“When we finally boarded the captain came out and told us their computer systems were down worldwide.
“He was very nice and answered our questions. He told us he would keep us posted and he did.
“Eventually after sitting on the tarmac for one and a half hours we disembarked the plane.
“Now we are sitting in the departure area outside the gate.We have been given a voucher for food and a drink.”
Pic: Long queues at Heathrow's Terminal Fivepublished at 12:18 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
Image source, Jack Baine
British Airways passenger Jack Baine says he and his family are currently stuck in queues at Heathrow Airport.
He told us: “I am travelling to Bologna with my family. Our flight is at 1455.
“There are massive queues snaking all through the airport.
“It's not very clear as to what queues to get in. It’s a bit of a free for all.
“BA staff are being as helpful as they can."
Stuck on the tarmacpublished at 12:12 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
BA passengers tweet...
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British Airways system outage causing delayspublished at 12:12 British Summer Time 27 May 2017
British Airways passengers worldwide are reporting delays as the airline suffers what it calls "network wide system issues."
We'll be here bringing you updates as they come.