Thousands face British Airways delays and cancellations

Thousands of British Airways passengers have been delayed by what the airline has described as a 'technical glitch'. BA flights have been cancelled or delayed at airports across the world.

British Airways have yet to provide details on the scale of the disruption or the reason, leading to criticism from passengers affected about a lack of information. Passengers at JFK airport reported that flights were still listed as on time, several hours after the scheduled departure time.

One customer, David Pymer, described his experience via twitter: 'British Airways sort your communication out! No flights boarding in JFK! A global issue being quoted as the problem and my flight is showing on time. I'm still here in New York!'

This morning, several BA flights set to depart from Gatwick and Heathrow were listed as delayed by several hours. Those flights worst affected appear to be long-haul to and from Gatwick.

In a statement, BA said it was 'sorry that a technical issue is causing delays to some of our flights this morning. Our teams are working hard to resolve this and get you on your way to your destination as quickly as possible.'

Series of British Airways IT problems

This is the latest in a string of IT failures at British Airways in recent years. These have caused delays and cancellations to thousands of passengers.

In August, more than 300 flights were delayed or cancelled because of an IT failure that prevented passengers from checking in. While in 2017, more than 70,000 BA customers were stranded by widespread disruption when computer systems failed.

In our most recent airline survey British Airways was rated the fifth worst carrier by passengers.

British Airways passenger rights to be rerouted

BA customers affected by these delays and cancellations have the right to be rerouted on a flight to their destination 'at the earliest opportunity'. As other airlines are operating as normal, this also requires BA to offer seats on alternate carriers, when a replacement British Airways flight isn't available.

Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor said: 'This is the latest in a long line of British Airways technical glitches causing delays and cancellations and yet again it's thousands of passengers who are paying the price - left tired, frustrated and with a lack of information and assistance from the airline.

'BA must do the right thing and reroute passengers as quickly as possible, using other airlines where necessary, as well as informing customers facing disruption about their entitlement to compensation.'

British Airways delays and compensation

While stranded British Airways customers are entitled to meals, refreshments and phone calls. The airline must also provide or pay for a hotel stay if you are delayed overnight.

British Airways passengers will also be entitled to compensation for delays and cancellations . The amount due will depend on the distance of the flight and length of the delay. You could be entitled to up to u20ac600 . Passengers can use our flight delay calculator to work out what compensation the can claim.