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BA flights chaos after global computer crash

Passengers at the British Airways check-in desk at Gatwick Airport. The airline says it has cancelled all flights leaving from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of today because of a "major IT system failure". (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)
Passengers at the British Airways check-in desk at Gatwick Airport. The airline says it has cancelled all flights leaving from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of today because of a "major IT system failure". (Gareth Fuller/PA Wire)

BRITISH AIRWAYS’ computer systems crashed across the world yesterday, sparking chaos at airports in the middle of a bank holiday weekend.

Passengers complained of delays, long queues and little information from the airline.

The major IT system failure saw all BA flights from Heathrow and Gatwick cancelled.

Hundreds of travellers were stuck in huge check-in lines at airports around the world.

The problem was compounded by the airline’s website and mobile phone app failing.

It caused passengers who had hoped to check in online to miss their flights as well.

Eyewitnesses at Gatwick Airport claim to have heard staff say they feared BA had become the latest victim of a cyber attack.

BA passengers also expressed their anger after the IT failure meant some were forced to wait on planes for more than two hours.

There were also claims of poor customer service with a lack of information over the IT issues.Londoner Terry Page, 28, who was booked on a BA flight to Texas, says he was stuck in a queue for two hours.

He claimed BA “made no announcements at all” about the delays, adding: “I tried to use their website to get a screenshot of my boarding pass – but the website isn’t working either.”

“We had to rely on the whisperings I could hear from staff talking.”

It comes as sunseeking Brits head overseas for the long weekend and school holidays.

A statement from Heathrow Airport said it was “working closely” with BA to solve the issue.

They advised passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport.

British Airways could not be reached but a statement on Twitter said: “We apologise for the current IT systems outage.

“We are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.”