Computer System Failure at British Airways Causes Hundreds of Flights to Cancel

British Airways, the British airline, was recently hit by major technical problems, leading to the cancellation of all short-haul flights from Heathrow airport until Saturday. 

In a statement issued to InsiderBritish Airways said: "We very much regret that, due to the ongoing technical problems we are experiencing, we have unfortunately had to cancel all short-haul flights from Heathrow today until midday." The statement also said that the British company "anticipates further disruption during the day".

The airline also confirmed to Reuters that the problem was not due to a cyber attack.

Heathrow Airport also apologized for the situation via its official Twitter.

According to Sky News, the British Airways website and app were down for several hours last Friday, preventing customers from booking flights or checking in online. Nevertheless, British Airways said that long-haul services at Heathrow and all flights at Gatwick and London City Airport should operate as planned.

Customers will be able to receive a full refund and can choose to rebook their flights at a later date, according to the airline. One passenger, Ed Hall, told The Press Association that he was stuck on a plane for more than an hour after landing at Heathrow Terminal 5. According to him, this was because the crew couldn't access any IT system to find out where passengers could disembark from the plane.

This systems disruption comes after British Airways itself canceled several flights in and out of London airports last week after Storm Eunice hit the UK.