British Airways: At least 50 flights from London Heathrow cancelled after reported IT issue

British Airways have been forced to cancel at least 50 flights out of London’s Heathrow Airport after a "technical issue" with the airline’s IT systems - just hours after its website crashed , leaving frustrated customers unable to check in and purchase tickets.

The flights were grounded from late afternoon on Thursday (May 25) with inbound flights delayed by more than an hour. Long queues formed at the airport as staff battled with the technical issue.

The airline said in a statement: “While the majority of our flights have continued to operate today, we have had to cancel a number of Heathrow flights due to a technical issue. Affected customers have been contacted and offered options, including a refund or re-booking to an alternative flight with us or another carrier. We are extremely sorry to our customers for the inconvenience caused.”

British Airways’ website crashed on Thursday afternoon (May 25), leaving customers unable to log on to their accounts or even to check in to their flight. According to Downdetector, the vast majority of issues relate to customers struggling with accessing their website from 2pm.

Downdetector said 63% had trouble with the website, 35% of users reported problems with its app, and 2% of customers had problems with their purchase. The issues mostly appeared to be affecting those in London.