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British Airways flights delayed by 'technical issue' – what you need to know

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Callum Mason
Callum Mason
News Reporter
21 November 2019

Dozens of British Airways flights have been delayed by a "technical issue" this morning, the airline has said. If you've been affected, here's a rundown of your rights and what you can do to claim compensation.

Flights to and from Heathrow and Gatwick appear to be among those affected, with 45 flights due to land at Heathrow before 9am on Thursday delayed by more than 45 minutes.

One flight, from Pittsburgh in the US, was more than 12 hours behind schedule. BA says a handful of flights were also cancelled on Wednesday night.

The airline said on Thursday morning it was working to resolve a "technical issue" and had rebooked customers onto alternative flights and offered hotel accommodation where necessary.

Customers have been urged to check the British Airways website for the latest flight info before travelling and ensure their contact details are up to date on their booking.

For key info on your rights in this situation, see below. For full help, see our Flight Delay Compensation guide.

Stuck at the airport? You may be entitled to food and drink

EU flight delay law applies to EU-regulated flights – so all BA flights going to and from UK airports are covered. It means you have rights if things go wrong.

Under the rules, your airline must look after you if you're delayed or waiting for an alternative flight. If you're delayed for more than two hours on a short-haul flight, three hours on medium haul (eg, Manchester to Malaga) or four hours for long haul, it should provide food and drink (or vouchers to buy them).

If it's unable to, you can buy your own and claim it back, but make sure you keep receipts – remember, only reasonable expenses are covered.

You may be entitled to compensation

Under EU flight delay law EU261, passengers can be entitled to compensation in some circumstances, if the delay is over three hours and was caused by something within the airline's control – so this technical issue is likely to qualify.

We've asked BA if it intends to pay out under EU261, and it told us: "We always meet our obligations when it comes to EU261."

If you're delayed by over three hours, you could be owed compensation. See our Flight Delays guide for full information.

To reclaim consequential losses, such as if you can't make a hotel booking because your flight has been cancelled, you could contact the hotel or other provider to see if it can offer a goodwill gesture, but if not, you'll need to contact your travel insurer. You could also complain about any extra losses to British Airways, though there are no guarantees this will work.

What does BA say?

A British Airways spokesperson said: "We plan to operate a full flight schedule today. There may be some knock-on delays to flights and we are advising customers to check BA.com for the latest flight information.

​"We are sorry for the disruption to customers who have been affected."

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