Why has British Airways cancelled all short-haul flights from Heathrow airport?

British Airways has cancelled all short-haul flights from Heathrow until midday and further disruption is expected throughout Saturday
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The airline said the problem, which may also cause delays for its customers using Gatwick and London City Airport, is related to an IT hardware issue and is not because of a cyber attack.

The major outage has caused cancellations and delays of flights, pile-ups of luggage and passengers stuck on planes after landing at Heathrow.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It said long-haul flights are still operating, but customers may experience some delays.

British AirwaysBritish Airways
British Airways

BA’s website and app were inaccessible for hours on Friday evening, preventing customers from checking in online or booking flights.

On Saturday morning, the airline advised customers to check the website for the latest flight information before coming to the airport.

In a statement, BA said: “We are extremely sorry that due to the continuing technical issues we are facing we have regrettably had to cancel all short-haul flights from Heathrow today until midday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Customers due to travel later today should check their flight status on ba.com before coming to the airport as we anticipate further disruption during the day.

“Our long-haul services at Heathrow and all flights at Gatwick and London City Airport are due to operate as planned, but customers may experience some delays.

“Our website ba.com is working and customers can check-in online and at the airport.”

BA said it is offering customers on cancelled services options including a full refund and all passengers booked to travel on short-haul services from Heathrow on Saturday can rebook to a later date for free.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The airline said it will be contacting customers proactively, adding: “Our teams have been working hard through the night and will continue to do so to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

“We advise our customers due to travel today to check ba.com for the latest flight information before coming to the airport.

“We know we have let our customers down and we will do everything we can to make this up to them – but for now our focus is on getting as many customers and flights away as we can.”

Photographs of departure boards in Heathrow Terminal 5 showed few flights boarding, while people complained on social media about a lack of information.

It is BA’s second outage in 10 days.

--------------

A message from the Editor:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry

Editor