British Airways 'IT glitch' causes travel chaos for passengers

There are delays on European BA flights arriving at London Heathrow on Monday evening

British Airways passenger aircraft at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 in London. EPA

A reported IT outage has led to British Airways planes being grounded and passengers unable to travel on Monday. The issue has left pilots unable to file flight plans electronically and having to manually call the operations centre at London Heathrow.

The IT glitch means pilots have not been able to log load sheets, which are essential for ensuring aircraft safety as they calculate the weight and distribution of cargo, fuel and passengers.

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Problems first emerged at about 5pm when passengers said they were on planes and awaiting clearance to take off. There were also reports of queues forming at Heathrow's Terminal 5.

British Airways flights arriving at London Heathrow from Europe are being delayed and the company's website is also down.

Passengers have taken to social media to vent their frustration with the airline, with reports of people being stranded in Naples, Dusseldorf and Tenerife.

"Absolute shambles, three flights cancelled this month and now being made to stand on the tarmac in a very cold Verona waiting for an already delayed flight. What has happened to the nation's airline? Not fit for purpose," one passenger said on X.

Flight Emergency on X said that British Airways has lost all communications to its aircraft due to an IT cut. Inbound flights are all being managed by Heathrow air traffic control, it said.

In a statement, BA said: “Our flights are currently operating but are experiencing delays as our teams work to resolve a technical issue affecting some of our systems.”

A Heathrow representative said: “We are aware of a technical issue that British Airways are investigating and we will be working with them to provide updates to passengers as soon as they are available.”

The representative said Heathrow’s systems were “operating as normal”.