British Airways ‘technical issue’ delays long-haul flights – and leaves Liz Hurley stranded on the tarmac

British Airways has apologised to customers after suffering “a technical issue” with its flight planning systems that has affected flights departing the US and elsewhere globally ahead of Christmas.

BA said it had fixed the glitch, first experienced overnight, that had grounded many long haul services ahead of scheduled departures and left many passengers complaining via social media.

Among them, possibly, was the actress Liz Hurley who said via her Twitter account that she had been stranded in Antigua for 20 hours “with no food or water, taxis or hotels offered yet”.

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Sky News was seeking additional information on the extent of the continuing disruption at the airline, which has a chequered recent history for IT reliability.

It is understood that dozens of flights have been delayed and a small number of cancellations.

The latest IT crash for BA came to light when passengers due to depart the USA reported widespread delays and a lack of information from BA staff on the ground.

Some customers said they had been held up for hours.

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