Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

British Airways short-haul flights from Heathrow cancelled

British Airways short-haul flights from Heathrow cancelled

British Airways has apologised after cancelling all short-haul flights from Heathrow Airport on Saturday morning.

The airline said on Saturday afternoon that its IT systems were back working again after technical issues, which it said were not caused by a cyber attack.

BA said there continued to be some cancellations but the majority of flights were now taking off as planned.

Long-haul flights continued to operate with some delays, but all short-haul flights were cancelled until midday.

Passengers travelling from Gatwick or London City Airport also faced some delays due to the issues.

In its Saturday afternoon statement, BA said it was now aiming to complete the day's flying programme and helping customers whose flights had been cancelled to rebook.

The major outage caused pile-ups of luggage and some customers were stuck on planes after landing at Heathrow.

BA said it knew it had "let customers down" and would do everything it could "to make this up to them".

"But for now our focus is on getting as many customers and flights away as we can," the company added.

It is giving customers on cancelled services the option of getting a full refund. Passengers due to fly on short-haul services from Heathrow on Saturday could also choose to rebook for a later date, for free. BA said it would be contacting customers "proactively".

Departures board a sea of red

The Heathrow Terminal 5 departures board showing most of British Airways flights from the airport (some go from T3) was a sea of red on Saturday morning.

The airline's short-haul flights were cancelled as a result of technical issues which started on Friday.

Tenerife - Zurich - Grenoble - Istanbul - Salzburg were all off the cards. Only flights to the likes of New York, Doha and Mumbai were showing as boarding and on time.

Domestic flights from the likes of Edinburgh and Manchester were cancelled too, because they would have started their journeys in Heathrow.

British Airways says a perfect storm of systems issues was to blame.

So check-in systems, stand planning - the computer systems which direct the aircraft to gates - and the flight management systems, which send flight plans out to crews. As well as cabin crew allocation. On top of this, a lot of aircraft and crews were "out of place" because of the storm disruption last week.

All these things are possible to control manually, but they are slower.

As a result, BA said it was prioritising its long haul flights on Saturday morning because they carry more people, are less frequent and people using them have fewer other options. The company said it was trying to protect as many passengers as possible.

The issues began on Friday with BA's website and app were inaccessible for several hours, leaving customers unable to book flights or check-in online.

The latest problems come after BA apologised for "letting people down" last week, when storms caused delays to unloading and loading luggage.

'The kids are upset'
Tom, his wife Michelle and their daughters Daisy and Poppy spent a few days in Naples


Tom O'Regan and his family were expected to return to London on Saturday after a holiday in Italy.

But their flight from Naples was among those cancelled. He said the next BA flight available would not be until next Tuesday.

"I don't see how that is acceptable really," he said, speaking from the airport.

"Our children are missing school because of it, we were supposed to be working on Monday."

Tom, from Liphook, Hampshire, said he had not been able to speak to anyone from the airline but he was expecting compensation for the extra costs.

He also told the BBC he was struggling to find a hotel for him, his wife and their two daughters.

"If we don't find anything the next step is to contact the embassy and see what they suggest," he added. "The kids are upset, we are stressed."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×