Brits hoping for a spring holiday saw their vacation plans thrown into chaos as British Airways was hit with technical issues, reports say.
The issues, the third major meltdown BA has had in two months, saw customers trapped waiting for hours as they were unable to check in and planes were grounded.
Customers took to social media to vent their frustrations amid claims of a 'global IT system failure' but since early reports, it is thought that the issue isn't global in its nature.
The error on BA's website says passenger check in "can't be completed right now" because the airline can't "verify your health documentation". It then asks flyers to "check travel and entry requirements".
Meanwhile, there are widespread reports of passengers not being allowed through security at Heathrow International, with BA flight also grounded or delayed due to the "technical issues".
Aviation streaming Twitter account Big Jet TV wrote that British Airways IT systems were encountering issues earlier this afternoon.
They wrote: "We’re live at Heathrow and hearing British Airways IT systems are down, globally."
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A spokesperson for BA said: "While we were able to resolve the temporary technical issue we experienced earlier today quickly and resume flight operations at Heathrow Terminal 5, we deeply regret that we have now had to cancel some of our flights this evening.
"We are taking steps to ensure as many customers as possible travel as planned. We have apologised to our customers for the inconvenience we have caused them, are offering to refund or rebook them onto alternative flights, and providing refreshment vouchers and hotel accommodation where needed."
British Airways said it was investigating a technical issue on Wednesday, responding on Twitter to a customer who reported IT problems affecting the fleet.
"We're investigating and working hard to resolve a technical issue and apologise for the inconvenience.
"We will provide further updates as quickly as possible," the tweet from the British Airways verified account said.
The woman who complained, Lizzie Ellen, wrote on Twitter: "Never travelling @British_Airways again. Ever. Yep flights changed, one within 48 hours, took a day to get through to them. Now waiting at the airport delayed flight because of an “IT system”.
Despite the speculation, the company denied its systems were down globally, but many customers took to social media to vent their frustrations.
On Twitter, one user called Jessica said: “Sitting at BA T5 gate currently where all computers are down again this month.
“Do not trust Heathrow or BA to take care of your bags overnight if you’d like to see your things again.”
One man stranded by the gate said "babies are crying" as adults are becoming more and more frustrated at the BA response.
Another wrote: "Currently at Heathrow (landed BA) and have waited over an hour for baggage to date with no info/movement. Assume it’s related?"
Brendan Dorian wrote: “All Access to airside at Terminal 5 Heathrow Airport currently prohibited, telephone landlines also down... no one going anywhere.”
The company's website at the end of February became completely inaccessible and BA's check-in system was reportedly down in the second outage within the last 10 days.
A number of reports suggest that Heathrow's Terminal 5 has been affected, with some claims circulating that Iberia and Qatar Airways have also been impacted by the fault.
Passengers had been stuck for hours because of the 'global IT failure' and were left frustrated at being left in the dark by BA.
The airline says it is working to overcome the issues that are affecting operations. A spokesperson said they will provide further updates as quickly as possible.
There have been suggestions that pilots can't access weight and balance systems.
This marks the third time in two months that BA has been hit with widespread flight delays and cancellations as a result of IT issues.
Alongside the similar issues only ten days prior, on February 25, BA suffered a major outage which left hundreds of bags unattended as passengers were sent home without their luggage.
