British Airways Cancels 100 Flights on Snow, Software (Update2)

April 6 (Bloomberg) -- British Airways Plc canceled 100 flights through Heathrow and Gatwick airports and warned passengers to expect delays as snowfall added to disruption caused by a software failure in its baggage handling.

The airline advised passengers to check details on its Web site after it canceled 76 mainly short-haul flights at Heathrow and 12 through Gatwick as a result of the weather. Poor visibility and runway closures for de-icing caused the cancellations. A further 12 flights were scrubbed at Heathrow because of an error in the computerized loading system at Terminal 5.

Airport operator BAA Ltd. apologized to British Airways and its passengers for the computer problem, which led to the cancellation of 24 flights yesterday. It was resolved in the early hours of this morning and the baggage system is now working well, BAA said in a statement.

Technical failures have led to the cancellation of more than 450 flights from Heathrow since Terminal 5 opened on March 27 as it struggles with a luggage backlog of 20,000 bags. British Airways, Europe's third-largest carrier, is the sole user of the 4.3 billion-pound ($8.6 billion) facility.

Gatwick Airport also reported the cancellation of six Easyjet Plc flights today as well as delays after the runway was closed for two hours from 9 a.m. local time for snow clearance.

Some arriving long-haul flights were diverted to other airports, including Bournemouth, Manchester and Stansted while the runway was cleared, Caroline Alderson, the airport's head of communications said.

Return flights today to Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Paris, Copenhagen and Berlin were canceled by British Airways because of the baggage software, the Harmondsworth, England- based airline said.

The U.K. Meteorological Office issued severe weather warnings for southern England, the north of Scotland and southwest Wales, with as much as 8 centimeters (3 inches) of snow expected to fall in some areas. Some roads were closed and motorists were warned to take extra care.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Penny in London tpenny@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Torday at ptorday@bloomberg.net