Airports and railway companies affected: IT failure causes traffic chaos

Britain’s transport networks have been thrown into chaos by the global IT outage.

There are long queues at airports and train services are also affected due to the disruption.

Transport Minister Louise Haigh said her department was “working closely with industry and all government representatives on this issue”.

The consumer organisation Which? advised passengers to avoid checking baggage if possible.

Long queues formed at airports such as Gatwick, Luton and Edinburgh.

Ryanair advised its passengers to arrive at the airport early as it had switched to manual check-in.

A traveler at Gatwick Airport said he waited in line for more than three and a half hours before his flight to Miami, Florida.

Dean Seddon, 42, from Plymouth, told the PA news agency: “There are just people everywhere. There must be 400 people in the queue at the check-in desk where I am… it’s just a madhouse.”

“It’s one of those things where you kind of know we’re not going to fly, but you don’t want to go because you don’t know.

“(The employees) are doing their best, but they don’t know when the problem will be fixed. It’s frustrating, but you kind of feel for the employees.”

Lance and Penny Spraggons said they waited in a check-in queue at West Sussex Airport for more than an hour.

The couple has booked a flight to Paris to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary with a cruise on the Seine.

Mr Spraggons said: “The biggest problem is the lack of information. We came here and didn’t know what was going on until we saw the queues.”

A spokeswoman for Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, said the outage had “affected selected systems”.

She continued: “Flights are operating and we are implementing contingency plans to minimise any impact on travel.”

The queue at Stansted snaked along in front of the main terminal building.

Courtney Kemal, 32, who had already been waiting in line for about two hours in the late morning, said her two sons, aged five and seven, were “obviously stressed”.

The business student from Romford, east London, said their Ryanair flight to Magaluf, Spain, for an eight-day holiday was due to depart at 12.40pm and they arrived at 9am.

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She said she had heard “nothing” from the airline and “we were not warned about it.”

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel magazine, said passengers travelling today “will naturally be deeply concerned”.

He continued: “Avoid checking a bag if possible, as airport check-in queues are long and IT outages typically result in a lot of baggage being lost.

“When checking baggage, make sure that medications, keys and other important items are in your hand luggage.”

He said passengers were not entitled to compensation for delayed or cancelled flights due to “extraordinary circumstances”, but airlines had a duty to look after them, including providing meals, accommodation and, if necessary, alternative flight bookings.

British air traffic control provider Nats said its systems were “functioning normally”.

With 3,214 departing flights, Friday is the busiest day of the year for UK air traffic as thousands of families head off for the summer holidays at the end of the school year at many schools.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium said 1,396 flights were cancelled worldwide, including 43 flights from the UK.

Several US airlines have suspended flights, including United, American Airlines and Delta.

The train information website National Rail Enquiries warned passengers that there were “widespread IT issues across the network”.

The operators affected include Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, Southern and Thameslink.

National Rail Enquiries explained: “Some train operators do not have access to driver charts at certain locations, which may result in short-term train cancellations.”

“In addition, other important systems are also affected, including real-time customer information platforms.”

South Western Railway said all ticket machines had stopped working due to IT problems.

Passengers were advised to “buy their ticket online or on the train or speak to a station staff member”.

Industry association Rail Delivery Group said that “most trains across the country are still running”.

Ms Haigh said: “We are aware of the IT outages affecting several transport operators and terminals today and we are working intensively with industry and across Government on this issue.

“There are currently no known security issues.

“If you plan to travel today, please follow the tour operator’s instructions and inform yourself before departure.

“Manual check-in may be required at airports and there may be flight and train cancellations and delays.”