LONDON — Many of British Airways’ computer systems were running again late Sunday as the carrier pushed to recover from a massive technology failure that disrupted hundreds of flights and stranded thousands of passengers worldwide over two days.
“All my British Airways colleagues on the ground or in the air are pulling out all the stops to get our operation back up to normal as quickly as we possibly can,’’ chief executive Alex Cruz said Sunday in a video message from the airline’s operations center near London’s Heathrow airport. “We are not there yet. But we are doing our very best to sort things out for you.’’
A total of 145 British Airways flights, or 16 percent, were canceled by 10:15 p.m. UK time on Sunday, while 381, or 42 percent, were delayed, according to Flight Aware, a Houston tracking service. The carrier scrapped a combined 418 flights at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, south of London, on Saturday and 568 were delayed, Flight Aware said. British Airways has declined to specify figures.
The airline plans to fly all its long-haul departures scheduled at Heathrow, but the after-effects of Saturday’s disruption will lead to delays, Cruz said. Services from Gatwick were operating “near normal,’’ though subject to postponements, the airline said.
“I know this has been a horrible time for customers,’’ who have missed holiday travel and been stranded on planes, separated from luggage and stuck in lines, Cruz said. “On behalf of everyone at British Airways, I want to apologize for the fact that you’ve had to go through these very trying experiences.’’
British Airways canceled all Saturday afternoon and evening departures from Heathrow and Gatwick following a “very severe disruption’’ worldwide to its computer systems handling check-ins, baggage sorting, and reservations. The disruption coincided with the start of the annual end-of-May bank holiday weekend in the United Kingdom as well as the three-day Memorial Day weekend regarded as the unofficial start of summer in the United States.
The breakdown, which also affected call centers, prevented passengers from rebooking or from retrieving luggage that had been loaded onto planes, and some travelers reported having to wait on grounded aircraft for several hours before they could go back into the terminals. They and passengers who were waiting at gates were eventually ordered to leave the airports, and faced massive lines at passport desks before they could reenter the United Kingdom.
Cruz said Saturday that British Airways believed the cause of the disruption was a power-supply issue and there was “no evidence of any cyberattack.’’
The airline said it would return bags stranded at Heathrow to customers via courier, free of charge, as soon as possible.
British Airways urged passengers without rebooked flights to stay home and check the carrier’s website for updates before going to airports. Due to heavy congestion at Heathrow, passengers were not being allowed inside terminals until 90 minutes before scheduled departure times, Cruz said.
Customers who were sent away from Heathrow and Gatwick on Saturday were told to find hotels on their own for reimbursement later by British Airways. Payments will include 200 pounds ($260) per night for lodging, 50 pounds round trip between the airport and the hotel, and as much as 25 pounds for refreshments.
Hotels near the airports were charging up to $3,200 for rooms for a night, the Sunday Telegraph said.
The airline said it would seek to rebook customers over the weekend or offer full refunds if a passenger is unable to fly.
In September, a network failure brought down British Airways’ check-in system, causing worldwide delays; earlier this month, London Gatwick reported problems with its baggage-sorting system.
