British Airways flights delayed due to ‘technical issue’

Many UK and international flights were delayed by a technical issue affecting the British Airways communications systems on Monday evening, 18th of November. The issue caused many flights to be grounded and left passengers stranded on the tarmac.

Passengers affected by these disruptions can claim flight compensation of up to £520 (or €600) per passenger.

British Airways technical issue – what happened?

On Monday evening, the 18th of November, the British Airways communication systems encountered a ‘technical issue’. A spokesperson for the airline said: “Our flights are currently operating, but are experiencing delays as our teams work to resolve a technical issue affecting some of our systems”. 

The IT system failure caused hours-long delays, as many flights were unable to take-off, leaving passengers stranded at the tarmac awaiting boarding, as well as waiting aboard the plane for the plane to take-off. The airline later stated the issue has been resolved, yet leaving multiple flights all over the UK and internationally disrupted in its wake.

What are my rights if my British Airways flight is delayed due to a technical issue?

Issues in the airline's IT systems are considered the airline's own fault. Hence, passengers are eligible for compensation if their flight was disrupted due to such issues.

You can claim up to £520 if:

• Your flight was delayed for over 3 hours – meaning that you arrived at your final destination at least 3 hours later than planned 
• The delay you experienced caused you to miss your connecting flight, leading you to arrive at your final destination at least 3 hours late. However, keep in mind that all connecting flights have to appear on the same booking.
• You can also claim compensation if your flight was completely cancelled at the last minute.

The amount of compensation you can get depends, however, on the distance of your flight. Learn more about it here.

How to make a compensation claim if my flight was disrupted by the British Airways technical issue?

If you fit in the above mentioned criteria, you can make a claim via our website in just a few clicks. We take care of the whole process for you.

Remember that you can also file a claim for other delayed or cancelled flights you’ve encountered – in the UK, you have 6 years to submit such a claim.

British Airways technical issue – is my flight affected?

Find your flight in our regularly refreshed list of recently delayed and cancelled flights and start your claiming process in just a few clicks!

All you need is your flight information and booking confirmation to get started. We do the rest for you!