System Failure at British Airways Shuts Down Flights Out of London

A global technology failure at British Airways led to delays, airport congestion and flight cancellations for thousands of customers at London area airports on Saturday.

The problems began around 7 a.m. local time. By late afternoon, the airline had canceled all Saturday flights departing from Heathrow and Gatwick airports. In a statement, it cited “a major I.T. system failure that is causing severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide.”

The glitch affected the airline’s check-in and operational systems, including call centers, the airline’s chief executive, Alex Cruz, said in a video on Saturday.

“Our I.T. teams are working tirelessly to fix the problems,” Mr. Cruz added. “We believe the root cause was a power supply issue, and we have no evidence of any cyberattack.”

British Airways urged passengers with tickets for Saturday flights not to go to Heathrow or Gatwick, in an effort to ease congestion. Customers already at the airports posted photos and videos of long lines and crowded terminals.

The airline warned that delays could continue into Sunday. “We are working hard to get our customers who were due to fly today onto the next available flights over the course of the rest of the weekend,” British Airways said in a statement. “Those unable to fly will be offered a full refund.”

The shutdown affected systems around the world, but British Airways flights could still depart from other airports where staff members were able to “find a workaround,” for example, by checking in passengers manually, a spokeswoman said.

View image on Twitter