British Airways IT outage leaves flights grounded and airport delays across Europe and UK

Thousands of British Airways travellers are grappling with significant delays and cancellations after a "technical issue" resulted in grounded flights across Europe. A reported IT glitch at BA has led to pilots being unable to submit flight plans electronically, forcing them to place manual calls to the operations centre at Heathrow.

The pilots found themselves unable to file "load sheets", which are critical for ensuring aircraft safety by calculating the weight and balance of cargo, fuel, and passengers.

By approximately 5pm, passengers began reporting issues, with some stating they were stuck waiting for takeoff while clearance was pending. Reports indicate that queues are mounting at Heathrow Terminal 5, and flights to Aberdeen, Newcastle, and Edinburgh are facing delays of an hour or more.

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Arrivals from Europe are also experiencing over an hour's delay.

Even though systems have been reinstated, a BA spokesperson acknowledged that passengers will continue to encounter delays due to a "technical issue". They stated: "Our flights are currently operating, but are experiencing delays as our teams work to resolve a technical issue affecting some of our systems.", reports the Mirror.

Flight tracking app Flight Emergency reported on the situation, saying: "British Airways have lost all Communications to aircraft around Europe due to an IT outage, flights will be managed by Heathrow air traffic control to get inbound flights back to base."

Pilots have reportedly been trying to keep passengers updated on the situation, while the airline's website appears to be offline. A message currently displayed on the site reads: "We are experiencing high demand on ba.com at the moment."

Passengers have taken to social media to share their experiences of being stranded on the tarmac in locations such as Naples, Düsseldorf and Tenerife.

One disgruntled passenger posted on social media: 'Absolute shambles three flights cancelled this month and now being made to stand on the tarmac in a very cold Verona waiting for an already delayed flight. What has happened to the nations airline? Not fit for purpose."

Another passenger commented: "British Airways appear to have had a major IT outage...again. Flight currently grounded, captain currently furious. Sass flying at about 45,000 feet as he gives fantastic passive aggressive updates. "He can't get hold of anyone for an update @British_Airways can you help?"

Hector McNeil wrote on X: "British Airways cmon let's have some updates pls on the pc outage. Stuck in Vienna! ! ! ! "

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport 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. Heathrow's systems are operating as normal."

Flights at Newcastle International Airport were unaffected.