Thousands of travelers were stranded Wednesday into Thursday due to a technical issue that disrupted British Airways flights around the world.
According to SKYNews.com, officials from British Airways said a computer glitch caused an unspecified number of flights to be delayed, but the carrier’s tech teams were working on a fix for the problem.
As a result of the delays, British Airways announced it rebooked customers on other flights and offered impacted passengers hotel accommodations. An airline spokesperson said the company was “very sorry for the disruption to their travel plans.”
Our teams are working hard to resolve a technical issue which is affecting some of our flights. I’m sorry for the inconvenience the delays have caused you, Nicole. Kimbers
— British Airways (@British_Airways) November 21, 2019
The carrier said it planned to operate a full flight schedule Thursday, but FlightAware.com is reporting at least 75 flights had already been delayed and more issues were expected. British Airways is asking customers to check its official website for the latest flight information before heading to the airport.
A source from the airline told SKY News the technical issue was caused by “a Flight Planning outage overnight.” Airports in England, the United States, Asia and Africa were impacted by the computer glitch.
@British_Airways passengers
If you’re 2+ hours late you’re entitled to:
• 2 free phone calls/emails
• Free meals & refreshments
• Free hotel if an overnight stay is requiredIf you’re 3+ hours late you’re entitled to:
• Compensation dependent on your flight distance+delay pic.twitter.com/WDIILcRTxK— Which? (@WhichUK) November 21, 2019
Some passengers affected by the technical issue told Sky News the British Airways’ helpline closed minutes before their flights were canceled, leaving them stranded for hours until the morning.
The issues come after the carrier’s pilots went on strike in September and forced the airline to ground nearly all flights for two days, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers around the world stranded.
