British Airways cancels dozens of Heathrow flights. Image source: REUTERS
Travelers at Heathrow have experienced delays for a second day as a result of British Airways canceling dozens more short-haul flights as a result of Thursday’s IT issues.
British Airways (BA) has blamed continued flight cancellations on a “knock-on effect of a technical issue,” which led to staff members being in the incorrect places.
Over 20,000 travellers have been impacted by these 175 airline cancellations. On what is regarded as the busiest day for air travel in the UK since 2019 the disruptions happened.
According to data company Cirium, 83 flights, or about 8% of BA’s scheduled Friday services, were canceled. This comes after 92 flights out of the 860 that were scheduled for Thursday were canceled.
Passengers have experienced tremendous inconvenience as a result of the technical issue and subsequent aircraft cancellations, which highlight the difficulties airlines confront in maintaining smooth operations.
In addition, some passengers have experienced issues with online check-in, preventing them from completing the process.
As the bank holiday and school half-term break begin, traffic congestion has started to build up in Dover, and delays are anticipated on both roads and ports during this period. B.
The majority of the cancellations by British Airways have affected European and domestic flights, although delays have also been experienced in other services.
The firm issued the following statement on Friday: “While the vast majority of our flights are still operating today, we have had to cancel a few of our short-haul flights from Heathrow as a result of a technical issue that we encountered yesterday.
According to BA, those impacted have the choice of rebooking an alternate flight or requesting a refund.
With nearly 3,000 flights scheduled, according to data from Cirium, Friday was expected to see the most departures from UK airports since before the start of the Covid pandemic.
Families leaving on vacation during the half-term break is at least one reason for this rise.
On Thursday afternoon, 43-year-old Guernsey resident Gavin Lanoe ran into trouble at Heathrow.
He followed instructions to seek assistance at the flight cancellations desk, but instead was left stuck with thousands of other travelers.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much staff on hand, so many of the desks were still vacant.
Gavin Lanoe noted that British Airways (BA) workers told him they couldn’t help with rebooking due to their current system outage after a string of stressful interactions.
The advice given to passengers was to depart, make their own accommodations, and then maybe apply for compensation of up to £200.
As a result, Mr. Lanoe made the decision to book a ticket on a different airline leaving from Gatwick Airport.
He learned this morning that his bag was stuck in Heathrow despite BA’s assurance that it would be transported to Gatwick.
Mr. Lanoe expressed his concern, saying that British Airways ought to have improved their policies for dealing with such circumstances in light of previous IT failures and lessons gained.
The issues started when Unite-represented security personnel at Heathrow Airport went on a three-day strike to demand a raise. Despite this, the airport has guaranteed that there won’t be any effects on its operations.
British Airways (BA) has experienced IT problems in the past, most notably a serious outage in 2017 that left 75,000 passengers detained over a long weekend.
Following the current event, consumers voiced their displeasure, leading the airline to promise to enhance its services going forward.
In February, days after flights were canceled due to Storm Eunice, passengers also experienced delays as a result of an IT problem.
Long traffic jams have plagued Dover during busy holiday seasons. image source: PA MEDIA
Congestion has started to build up at Dover as people depart on cross-Channel ferry trips.
According to DFDS, the ferry operator, as of just before 08:00 BST, there was a little one-hour wait for coach traffic at border control but a major one-hour delay for automobile travelers.
Additionally, the Port of Dover tweeted an update, noting that traffic was moving smoothly at the moment, with no wait times for coaches and less than an hour for vehicles.
During busy holiday periods, Dover has frequently experienced long queues of vehicles. For instance, in the lead-up to Easter, some coach passengers had to endure 15-hour delays before boarding ferries to France from the Kent port.
The CEO of Dover has stated this week that every possible measure has been taken to minimize travel disruptions during the upcoming bank holiday and school half-term break.
On the roads, the RAC, a motoring organization, anticipates that this late May bank holiday will be the busiest since before the pandemic, with approximately 19 million leisure trips expected to be made by car between Friday and the end of Monday.
In another travel update, Eurotunnel has reported that its cross-Channel vehicle services are experiencing high demand, but the trains are departing punctually.
It is anticipated that a signaling system issue between East Croydon and Gatwick Airport would interrupt train service until about 15:00.
Additionally, rail customers have been informed that the forthcoming week’s scheduled strikes will result in major service disruptions.
The RMT union has called for a strike on June 2, while the drivers’ union Aslef has scheduled walkouts for May 31 and June 3.