British Airways was mired in fresh chaos yesterday after an email blunder led tens of thousands of passengers to believe their flights had been cancelled.
Up to 40,000 customers telephoned the airline after receiving the message telling them incorrectly that they had to rebook their flights.
Dozens of victims are thought to have rebooked unnecessarily and callers spent hours trying to get through to BA before learning their flights had been safe all along.
The weekend of mayhem came as it emerged that BA faces seven days of hold-ups next month when its pilots go on strike.
Although members of the Balpa union are taking action only on September 9, 10 and 27, experts believe another four days’ of delays will be caused by planes and crew being stranded in the wrong destinations.
The erroneous email was sent to customers whose flights are unaffected by the Balpa strike.
Adam French, of consumer watchdog Which?, said: “It is vital that the airline ensures that any customer who was initially informed that their flight was cancelled and has booked an alternative flight is not left out of pocket.”
A BA spokesman apologised and said anyone who had spent money on alternative arrangements should contact the airline.
He added: “We will deal with each case on an individual basis.”
