Problem seem to have begun six hours ago and appear to have hit BA bag drops and check-ins worldwide.
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Asked where the IT problems were on Tuesday, the BA spokesman said: “It is patchy”.
Some passengers even posted photographs on social media of hand-written boarding passes.
A British Airways spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that the delays were caused by a problem with the airline’s check-in system and only affected flights coming in from the US. Thousands of passengers had to wait for hours in several airports.
Responding to passengers on Twitter, British Airways said: “We apologise to our customers for the delay and we appreciate their patience as our IT teams work to resolve this issue”.
A computer problem in a new British Airways (BA) check-in system caused delays on the airline’s network September 6.
A month earlier Southwest Airlines Co., the No. 4 US carrier by traffic canceled 2,300 flights over four days after a computer meltdown.
O’Hare International, San Francisco International, Seattle-Tacoma International, London City, Heathrow, Gadwick airports etc. were affected.
British Airways told customers that some flights were cancelled on Monday “due to operational reasons”. It recommended passengers to check in online before reaching the airport.
British Airways is continuing to check people in at its London Heathrow hub, as well as at Gatwick, south of the city, though the process is taking longer than usual, spokeswoman Liza Ravenscroft said by e-mail.
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The airline apologised after people took to Twitter to complain of delays and misery. Less than a month before that failure, Southwest Airlines also faced system failure resulting in more than 1,000 flight cancellations. The delays were caused by a recent upgrade to the airline’s check-in system which was upgraded in October of last year with the rollout coming to completion this year.
