‘Significant’ number of holidaymakers still without luggage after BA IT failure

A “significant” number of holidaymakers are still without their luggage as British Airways continues to recover from the chaos caused by a major system failure.

The airline said its IT systems are “back up and running” and it was operating a full schedule on Tuesday but apologised to those who had not been reunited with their bags.

Travellers getting away for half-term breaks were stranded at airports over the bank holiday weekend and have been forced to start their holidays without their baggage.

In the latest update for passengers on its website, BA said: “Although we have already flown many bags to the correct airport, there is still some work to do and we know there are still significant numbers of customers who are yet to receive their luggage.”

Passengers left without luggage are being advised they can claim money back for essential items.

A BA spokesman said: “We are very sorry for the frustration customers are experiencing and understand the difficulties they are facing.

“We’re working round the clock to reunite customers with their luggage. We are delivering bags to customers, at homes or hotels, as soon as the bags arrive at their final destination.

“Customers can update their personal details or check the very latest status of their bag delivery on ba.com.”

Experts predict the knock-on effect of the IT outage could continue for several days and BA is facing huge compensation costs, with reports suggesting the bill could top £100 million.

The airline’s parent company, IAG, saw shares fall by around 3% in the first day of trading in London after the problem emerged.

Shares in IAG, which is also listed in Madrid, had already tumbled heavily in trading in Spain on Monday, wiping around 410 million euro (£357 million) off the stock.

BA has said there is no evidence it was the victim of a cyber attack and added the cause of the IT issues was a surge after “total” power failure.

The spokesman said: “It was not an IT issue, it was a power issue. There was a total loss of power.

“The power then returned in an uncontrolled way, causing physical damage to the IT servers.

“We know what happened, we are investigating why it happened.”

BA chief executive Alex Cruz has promised a full investigation into the failure, which affected 75,000 passengers as thousands of flights were cancelled.

He said: “On Saturday morning we did have a power surge. It did affect our communications systems.

“We are now focusing on making sure everyone’s needs are addressed. We will make an in-depth investigation to make sure we get to the bottom of exactly why this happened and we will react.

“Absolutely this will not happen again at British Airways.”