Why Do Airlines Suffer So Many Tech Glitches?
Skift Take
A British Airways hiccup earlier this month was merely the latest tech outage at a number of airlines. Why does the industry suffer from so many glitches? Experts point to some deeper reasons beyond the commonly heard "old tech" explanation.
On August 6 and 7, some of British Airways check-in systems at London airports crashed. The carrier canceled more than 100 flights, inconveniencing thousands of flyers.
British Airways hasn't revealed the cause. "No additional information is available at this time," a spokesperson said this week.
In July, U.K. regulators threatened to slap the carrier with a $220 million (£183 million) fine for inadequate data security. In 2017, hackers robbed British Airways data on more than 500,000 passengers. The airline will appeal the fine. But it continues to face a possible financial hit.
Consider, too, that in May 2017, British Airways faced a power outage. Its failure to have an effective back-up plan downed many of its systems. The carrier canceled 726 flights, stranding tens of thousands of passengers. The hiccup cost about $100 million (£80 million), the airline said.
British Airways isn't the only network carrier to suffer tech glitches that have led to many cancelations. Ai
