British Airways computer failure causing travel chaos wipes £500m off value of airline
It came as insiders slammed as 'total nonsense' BA’s attempts to blame a power surge
THE computer failure at British Airways wiped £500million off the value of the airline yesterday.
It came as insiders slammed as “total nonsense” BA’s attempts to blame a power surge.
Shares in parent company IAG tumbled three per cent in the first day of trading after the bank holiday chaos which saw 1,000 flights cancelled.
BA’s chief executive Alex Cruz, who says he will not quit, claimed the problem was caused by a power supply issue at a UK data centre.
But energy firms SSE and UK Power Networks, which serve Heathrow and BA’s nearby HQ, rejected that claim.
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An airline insider has blamed the meltdown on cost-cutting over a new IT system.
The insider said: “This so-called power surge is an excuse, total nonsense.
“The issues they suffered over the weekend are not a rarity, things like that happened a lot.
“Even Alex Cruz admitted the system was s*** but wanted to prioritise purchase of new aircraft.
“They knew that system was dodgy from day one and it’s been hurting the business ever since. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.”
PM Theresa May has refused to be drawn on whether BA is worthy of being the country’s flag-carrier.
She said: “It is up to them to ensure they are able to provide the services people expect.”
BA plans a full schedule of flights today from Heathrow and Gatwick,