Star comment: BA should give us an explanation

Instead of soaking up the sun, passengers at both Heathrow and Gatwick endured the misery of interminable queues and trying to get to sleep on departure lounge floors.

You expect a lot better than this from ‘the nation’s favourite airline’.

Despite chief executive Alex Cruz’s protestations, we may never genuinely know what caused the ‘power failure’ that downed the airline’s computers and lost caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled.

Most people in the modern age will be able to sympathise with staff when computer glitches occur.

We can understand the frustration of those at BA who were undoubtedly trying to make the best out of what transpired to be an impossible situation.

However, a company the size of BA with its huge PR budget should have realised more quickly the scale of the problem.

A contingency plan should have been in place, while the fact that passengers were not kept informed of what was going on smacks of atrocious customer service.

Families who booked connecting flights or accommodation will now need to be compensated, with the total payout estimated to be around the £150 million mark.

By far the best policy for BA would be to be as transparent as possible. Mr Cruz, who is facing calls for his resignation, needs to explain exactly what went on.

Otherwise suggestions that the flight disruption was influenced by cost-cutting measures at the airline will persist.

The explanation that the chaos was caused by a short power surge and that the back-up system had failed is not good enough. It will do nothing to quell the widely held suspicion that the systems collapse was linked to the decision to outsource technical staff from the UK to India. BA is still one of the world’s greatest airlines, but its reputation has become tarnished over the last decade.

The chaos that surrounded the opening of Terminal 5 cost the airline around £16m, while last July problems with a new check-in system caused lengthy delays during one of the busiest days of the year.

Passengers, the wider public and indeed BA shareholders need and deserve answers over this latest disaster. People have the right to expect a better level of service.