Transport

Shares in British Airways owner fall 4% after weekend chaos

Huge IT failure grounded hundreds of flights leaving 75,000 passengers stranded

BA was forced to cancel its schedule from London’s Heathrow and Gatwick on Saturday. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Tue May 30 2017 - 08:29

Shares in British Airways owner IAG fell more than 4 per cent on Tuesday after a huge IT failure grounded hundreds of flights over the holiday weekend, leaving 75,000 passengers stranded and dealing a major blow to its reputation.

BA was forced to cancel its schedule from Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, and Gatwick on Saturday after it said a power surge knocked out its computer systems, disrupting its global flight operations, call centres and website. It struggled to recover on Sunday and Monday, but said it would be operating a full flight schedule at Heathrow and Gatwick on Tuesday.

Shares in IAG, which also owns carriers Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, fell more than 4 per cent in early deals on Tuesday, the first day of London trading after the holiday weekend. They were down 4.3 per cent at 588p, wiping half a billion pounds off its market value.

  • Reuters
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