Chaos ensued on Wednesday for British Airways passengers at Heathrow and Gatwick following a temporary check-in issue.
“Customers are being checked in as normal after an earlier problem was resolved. We are sorry for the temporary check-in problems, which caused some delays for our customers first thing this morning,” said British Airways in a statement.
“This issue is now resolved and our staff are working flat out to help customers get away on their holidays.”
The disruption to travel came just two months after the cancellation of 670 flights after the huge power failure. The major technical glitch experience over the May bank holiday weekend which lasted for days is expected to cost the airline millions. The compensation bill alone could cost the carrier £100 million.
“Clearly, the situation has changed markedly as we enter peak holiday season and it is now up to the UK government to work with industry to use whatever influence it can within the EU to persuade Schengen member states to resource their border operations properly.” said Tim Alderslade from Airlines UK, an industry body representing UK-registered carriers in regards to the long immigration lines.
New rules following terrorist attacks have resulted in more thorough security checks, which has resulted in waits of up to four hours.
British Airways has warned of “shameful” queues, which can be expected at airports including Madrid, Palma, Lisbon, Lyons, and Milan. The carrier warned of flight delays increasing by up to 300 percent.
Passengers took to social media to complain of the delays.
“T5 is absolute carnage with systems down!! Very unhappy customers left right and centre. #stillqueuing” wrote one passenger on Twitter.
Willie Walsh, head of parent company IAG (LON:IAG) , said the investigation into the power failure in May was almost complete. IAG have reported a surge in profits.