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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
James Holt

People left 'stranded' after flight to Manchester Airport cancelled due to 'technical issue'

People have been left 'stranded' at Heathrow airport this evening (May 25), with a flight to Manchester suddenly cancelled at the last minute due to a 'technical issue'.

Huge queues were pictured in Terminal 5 at Heathrow on Thursday night after a number of other British Airways (BA) flights were cancelled.

Those stuck in the airport, who have reported scenes of 'chaos' and 'huge queues' for customer services have also claimed they were told to leave the airport - however BA have said passengers were given the option of a refund or to rebook.

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One customer, who had landed in Heathrow from a long-haul USA flight and was due to catch a connecting British Airways flight back to Manchester said: "It is absolute chaos. Quite a lot of people were travelling back to Manchester and we were told our flight had been cancelled and to leave the airport.

"Where are we supposed to go? Nobody knows what is going on, we are stranded and I have bags I need to somehow get and take home. People have been left high and dry.

"The desks are inundated because they are so confused. Nobody knows what they are supposed to do, or if they can afford a hotel or another flight.

"I was eventually booked onto another flight for Friday morning but I just want to get home. I haven't seen my family for five days."

A picture shared with the Manchester Evening News from Heathrow shows the flight departure board, with a number of cancellations, along with huge queues for customer services. It is understood the issue is not related to strike action by security officers at the airport.

British Airways has said that affected customers had been offered options, such as a refund or the option to renook with another carrier as they apologised for the inconvenience.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: "British Airways is currently working to resolve a technical issue with a number of its systems. We have additional Heathrow colleagues on-hand in the terminals to provide passengers with any additional assistance required."

British Airways spokesperson added: "While the majority of our flights have continued to operate today, we have had to cancel a number of Heathrow flights due to a technical issue. Affected customers have been contacted and offered options, including a refund or rebooking to an alternative flight with us or another carrier. We are extremely sorry to our customers for the inconvenience caused."

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