Incident: British Airways IT Glitch Causes Flight Cancellations and Delays

Published Date: 2019-08-07

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving British Airways happened on an unspecified date in August 2019 [88203].
System 1. Online check-in system 2. Flight departure system 3. Manual systems for check-in at airports
Responsible Organization 1. British Airways [88203]
Impacted Organization 1. Passengers of British Airways [88203] 2. Musicians heading to a four-day indie festival [88203] 3. Junior Great Britain wheelchair tennis player Abbie Breakwell and her mother [88203] 4. Sam Angeli, his wife, and two children [88203]
Software Causes 1. The software failure incident at British Airways was caused by an IT glitch that affected two separate systems - one dealing with online check-in and the other handling flight departures [88203].
Non-software Causes 1. The failure incident was caused by an IT glitch that led to the cancellation and delay of flights, affecting more than 100 flights [88203]. 2. The issue involved two separate systems - one dealing with online check-in and the other with flight departures [88203]. 3. The failure incident resulted in British Airways having to revert to using manual systems for check-in at airports, leading to long queues [88203]. 4. Passengers faced delays and cancellations due to the failure incident, causing frustration and inconvenience for travelers [88203]. 5. The failure incident led to stranded passengers, such as a wedding party of 25, and individuals missing important events and tournaments [88203].
Impacts 1. More than 100 flights were cancelled and over 200 others were delayed, leading to significant travel disruptions for passengers [Article 88203]. 2. Passengers faced long queues at airports due to the need for manual check-in processes [Article 88203]. 3. Passengers missed connecting flights, leading to delays in reaching their destinations, such as a wedding near Lake Bled in Slovenia [Article 88203]. 4. Junior Great Britain wheelchair tennis player Abbie Breakwell and her mother were stuck at Heathrow after their flights were cancelled, impacting Abbie's ability to participate in a tournament in Belgium [Article 88203]. 5. Passengers like Sam Angeli had to incur additional expenses, such as spending over £850 on hotel rooms due to the flight cancellations [Article 88203]. 6. Musicians, including members of Belle and Sebastian, faced challenges reaching their destination for a festival, with some having to switch to alternative flights [Article 88203]. 7. Families with children were reported to be annoyed and facing difficulties in contacting British Airways for information and assistance [Article 88203]. 8. British Airways faced reputational damage and customer dissatisfaction, with passengers expressing frustration on social media and criticizing the airline's handling of the situation [Article 88203].
Preventions 1. Implementing robust testing procedures to catch any potential IT glitches before they impact operations [88203]. 2. Regularly updating and maintaining the IT systems to ensure they are functioning properly and are resilient to failures [88203]. 3. Investing in redundancy and backup systems to quickly switch over in case of a failure in one system [88203]. 4. Conducting thorough risk assessments and implementing measures to mitigate the impact of IT failures on operations and customers [88203].
Fixes 1. Implementing robust testing procedures to catch potential IT glitches before they impact operations [88203]. 2. Enhancing the redundancy and resilience of critical systems to prevent widespread disruptions [88203]. 3. Conducting a thorough review and potential overhaul of the IT systems involved to address underlying issues [88203]. 4. Providing better communication channels and protocols to keep passengers informed during incidents [88203].
References 1. Passengers affected by the software failure incident, such as Alex Brayson, Abbie Breakwell, Sam Angeli, and musicians heading to a festival [Article 88203] 2. British Airways official statements regarding the incident [Article 88203] 3. Airport staff at Heathrow and Gatwick airports [Article 88203] 4. Belle and Sebastian singer Stuart Murdoch [Article 88203] 5. BBC News reporter Leigh Milner at Heathrow Terminal 5 [Article 88203]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident has happened again at one_organization: The article mentions that British Airways has experienced IT problems in the past. In May 2017, the airline suffered major computer failures over the spring bank holiday weekend, leading to the cancellation of 726 flights and leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded. This indicates that British Airways has faced similar IT issues in the past [88203]. (b) The software failure incident has happened again at multiple_organization: There is no specific mention in the provided article about similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services. Therefore, it is unknown if the software failure incident has occurred at multiple organizations.
Phase (Design/Operation) operation (a) The software failure incident in the British Airways case seems to be related to the operation phase rather than the design phase. The incident was caused by an IT glitch that led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights and delays for over 200 others. The airline had to revert to using manual systems for check-in at airports, causing long queues and operational disruption [88203]. This indicates that the failure was more operational in nature, affecting the day-to-day functioning of the airline's systems rather than being a result of design flaws introduced during development.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system, outside_system From the provided articles, the software failure incident involving British Airways can be categorized as both within_system and outside_system: (a) within_system: The article mentions that the IT glitch that caused flight cancellations and delays was due to issues with two separate systems within British Airways - one dealing with online check-in and the other with flight departures [88203]. (b) outside_system: The article also highlights that the software failure incident led to passengers being stranded, facing delays, and experiencing frustration due to the disruption caused by the IT glitch. This indicates that the contributing factors originating from outside the system, such as passenger inconvenience and financial losses, were significant consequences of the software failure incident [88203].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in the British Airways case was primarily due to non-human actions. The article mentions that the IT glitch caused more than 100 flights to be cancelled and over 200 others to be delayed. British Airways stated that the issue involved two separate systems - one dealing with online check-in and the other with flight departures. The problem led to the airline reverting to manual systems for check-in at airports, causing long queues and operational disruption [88203]. (b) The human actions also played a role in exacerbating the situation. Passengers expressed frustration on social media, and individuals like Sam Angeli had to spend significant amounts on hotel rooms due to the flight cancellations. The lack of communication from British Airways to affected passengers, as highlighted by Mr. Angeli, contributed to the overall dissatisfaction and chaos experienced by travelers. Additionally, the article mentions that musicians heading to a festival had to make last-minute changes to their travel plans, indicating the impact of human actions on their schedules [88203].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware: - The article does not mention any specific hardware-related issues contributing to the software failure incident. Therefore, it is unknown if the incident occurred due to hardware-related factors. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to software: - The software failure incident in the article is attributed to an IT glitch affecting British Airways, leading to flight cancellations and delays. The glitch impacted systems related to online check-in and flight departures, indicating that the root cause of the failure originated in the software systems used by the airline [88203].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident reported in the news article about British Airways passengers being stranded after IT failures does not indicate any malicious intent behind the failure. The incident seems to be a non-malicious failure caused by IT glitches and issues with the airline's systems [88203].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown (a) The software failure incident involving British Airways was not explicitly attributed to poor decisions. The article mainly focused on the IT glitch that caused flight cancellations and delays, leading to passengers being stranded and facing significant disruptions. There was no specific mention of poor decisions contributing to the incident [88203]. (b) The software failure incident involving British Airways was primarily described as an IT glitch that caused flight cancellations and delays, resulting in passengers being stranded and facing significant disruptions. The incident was not explicitly attributed to accidental decisions or mistakes. The focus was on the technical issues and operational disruptions caused by the IT glitch [88203].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident reported in the news article about British Airways passengers being stranded after IT failures does not explicitly mention development incompetence as a contributing factor. The incident seems to be more related to an IT glitch causing flight cancellations and delays, leading to manual check-in processes and operational disruptions [88203]. (b) The software failure incident at British Airways appears to be accidental, as it was described as an IT glitch that caused flight cancellations and delays. The article does not indicate any intentional actions leading to the failure, suggesting that the incident was accidental in nature [88203].
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident in the article was temporary. The IT glitch that caused more than 100 flights to be cancelled and more than 200 others to be delayed was fixed by British Airways [88203]. The airline mentioned that flights were returning to normal, but there may still be "knock-on operational disruption" [88203]. Passengers were invited to rebook flights on any other day up to the following Tuesday, indicating that the issue was not permanent [88203]. (b) The software failure incident was temporary as it was caused by specific circumstances related to the IT glitch affecting online check-in and flight departures systems, rather than being a global problem [88203]. The article also mentions that the airline was working on getting passengers on alternative flights and providing them with food, drink, and accommodation if necessary due to the delays, which indicates a temporary nature of the incident [88203].
Behaviour crash, omission, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the British Airways case led to a crash as the IT glitch caused more than 100 flights to be cancelled and more than 200 others to be delayed. This resulted in the system losing its state and not performing its intended functions, leading to operational disruption and long queues at airports [88203]. (b) omission: The software failure incident also involved omission as the problem caused British Airways to revert to using manual systems for check-in at airports, resulting in the system omitting to perform its intended functions efficiently, causing delays and inconvenience to passengers [88203]. (c) timing: There is no specific mention of a timing-related failure in the articles provided. (d) value: The software failure incident did not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit behaviors of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. (f) other: The other behavior observed in this software failure incident was the system causing knock-on operational disruption, affecting flights across the network but not at every airport. This behavior led to a widespread impact on flight operations and passenger travel plans [88203].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property, delay, non-human (a) death: There were no reports of people losing their lives due to the software failure incident mentioned in the articles. (b) harm: There were no reports of people being physically harmed due to the software failure incident mentioned in the articles. (c) basic: There were no reports of people's access to food or shelter being impacted because of the software failure incident mentioned in the articles. (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data were impacted due to the software failure incident. For example, Sam Angeli had to spend more than £850 on two rooms at a hotel due to the cancellation of his flight [88203]. (e) delay: People had to postpone activities due to the software failure incident. For instance, passengers faced delays, cancellations, and had to rebook flights, impacting their travel plans [88203]. (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure incident. For example, musicians heading to a festival had to make alternative travel arrangements to reach their destination on time [88203]. (g) no_consequence: There were observed consequences of the software failure incident, such as flight cancellations, delays, and operational disruptions. (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed, such as the need for passengers to rebook flights, potential compensation claims, and the airline facing fines over a cyber attack, but these consequences did not occur as reported in the articles. (i) other: There were no other consequences of the software failure incident mentioned in the articles.
Domain transportation, finance, other (a) The software failure incident reported in the news article affected the airline industry, specifically British Airways. The IT glitch caused more than 100 flights to be cancelled and over 200 others to be delayed, leading to passengers being stranded and facing long queues at airports [Article 88203]. Passengers were advised to rebook flights, and the airline had to resort to using manual systems for check-in due to the IT issues. (h) The software failure incident also impacted the finance industry indirectly as British Airways faced operational disruptions and financial losses due to the flight cancellations and delays caused by the IT glitch [Article 88203]. (m) The software failure incident could be categorized under the "other" industry as it involved the transportation of passengers via air travel, which is not explicitly covered in the provided industry options [Article 88203].

Sources

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