Call for an instant quote 0345 90 80 161
Open Mon to Fri 09:00 - 17:30 | Sat 09:00 - 16:00 (GMT)
02 June 2017 09:02
BA flights were heavily disrupted over the weekend
British Airways has revealed the cause of an IT shut-down which led to major flight disruption over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The airline indicated that the issues were the result of an "uncontrolled return of power" following an outage, with servers at its data centre physically damaged.
The announcement followed flight cancellations over the weekend, with thousands of people thought to have been impacted.
With the group unable to resume its full schedule until Tuesday (May 30), many of those caught up in the incident will likely be checking over their travel insurance policies.
Questions remain
Initially, the GMB union suggested that the IT problems might have been caused by the contracting of work out to India.
Chief executive Alex Cruz has confirmed that the outsourcing of jobs was not behind the "catastrophic" power failure.
While announcing the real cause of the problems, BA is yet to say what led to the initial power outage and subsequent surge.
Commenting in a statement, the airline said: " There was a loss of power to the UK data centre which was compounded by the uncontrolled return of power which caused a power surge taking out our IT systems. So we know what happened, we just need to find out why.
"It was not an IT failure and had nothing to do with outsourcing of IT, it was an electrical power supply which was interrupted. We are undertaking an exhaustive investigation to find out the exact circumstances and most importantly ensure that this can never happen again."
Cost implications
Experts have indicated that the carrier could face significant compensation costs, potentially running into many millions of pounds.
The group has already emphasised that all relevant European compensation rules will be followed, with extra staff added to its customer relations department.
On Saturday night, some passengers were forced to sleep on yoga mats at Heathrow and Gatwick, as BA flights were cancelled.
Anyone impacted by the weekend's disruption can call a freephone number set up by BA to discuss their issues. The number is 0800 727 800.
19 July 2018
The flu vaccination does not appear to have been effective in protecting against so-called Aussie flu, figures show.
[more...]
18 July 2018
Bowel cancer screening tests could also provide an insight into whether patients are at risk of other illnesses, a new study has revealed.
17 July 2018
France is still celebrating today after its national football team brought home football's biggest prize after a thrilling final in Moscow.
14 July 2018
Too many passengers heading abroad this summer will be travelling without adequate protection for when an airline goes bust, a new study has shown.
13 July 2018
The mother of Bradley Lowery has welcomed the news that a drug used to help treat her son will soon be made available for other patients on the NHS.
12 July 2018
British GPs have prevented thousands of strokes after learning how to better identify and treat a common heart condition, research has shown.
11 July 2018
London City Airport is considering lodging an application to increase flight and passenger numbers, its boss has revealed.
10 July 2018
Captain Harry Kane is leading England's unexpected bid for glory, and is hoping to inspire the next generation of footballers by going all the way in Russia.
07 July 2018
Experts have warned that a lack of rigorous testing of skin cancer detection apps is putting the public at risk.
06 July 2018
Easyjet has added to worries that travellers are set for a summer of chaos, revealing that nearly 1,300 flights were cancelled last month.
05 July 2018
Soaring temperatures across the UK have led to a surge of asthma sufferers calling a dedicated asthma helpline, a charity has revealed.
04 July 2018
Strikes across Europe led Ryanair to cancel over 1,000 flights in June, the budget airline has revealed.