Passengers have faced delays after a “technical issue” grounded British Airways (BA) flights on Monday.
A BA spokesperson said flights were operating with delays but teams were attempting to "resolve a technical issue affecting some of our systems".
Travel journalist Simon Calder wrote on X: "British Airways IT system failure is causing delays of 1-2 hours on many BA flights this evening... As delays build up I fear there will be cancellations tonight/tomorrow."
One passenger claimed they were left waiting on the tarmac at Verona airport after their flight was delayed.
Issues were first reported to the airline at about 5pm, The Times reported.
One pilot due to leave Valencia said the delays were due to a “company-wide IT failure”, according to the newspaper.
Another passenger in Verona said: "'British Airways, can you explain why you have hundreds of people waiting outside, in the cold, on the runaway, and there has been no communications, no collaboration from your staff, just silence and huge wait times.
"All day, constant delays, and no indication on when you are going to board this plane. This is flight BA 2591, Verona airport.
“Everyone here has just run the Verona marathon and is exhausted and frustrated.”
A Heathrow spokesperson meanwhile 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 spokesperson added that Heathrow’s systems were “operating as normal”.
BA’s X account could be seen replying and apologising to disgruntled customers on Monday evening.
One account posted: “@British_Airways cmon let’s have some updates pls on the pc outage. Stuck in vienna!!!!”
Another wrote: “@British_Airways what is happening with the load computing for aircrafts? Stuck on a plane in Rome going nowhere till the software is rebooted. Please assist!”
BA replied: “Our website is down. We are doing all we can to return online as soon as possible.
“Hopefully not too long before the Captain has his load sheet. Thanks for your understanding. Have a good journey when it is safe for you to be airborne.”
