John F. Kennedy Airport has
witnessed massive flight delays on May 29 following a cyber crash during one of
the busiest travel holidays of the year. The server error has led to stall
operations at Terminal Seven and eventually caused cancellation of flights for
hundreds of passengers.
However, the British Airways operated
terminal appears to be the lone one that fall victim to the computer outage.
Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and other airlines operating in the same terminal
have witnessed similar fate. Of the affected airline companies, Cathay Pacific
has served explanation letters to its customers citing computer boarding error
as the reason for the unintentional delay.
During the stalled period, the
terminal has remained pretty packed and cramped with the stranded passengers,
reports CBS News quoting a passenger Mike Priestley. Priestly has intended to
fly for London with a British Airways flight at 9.55 pm. He has been witnessed
to remain grounded even after an hour of the scheduled time.
Airline staffs have been found issuing
hand written boarding passes and baggage claim tickets. The server crash has
taken place at around 4 pm ET and hasn’t been resolved for hours, reports CNN
quoting Neal Buccino, a spokesman for the Port Authority. British Airways has
confirmed returning to normalcy later on.
However, the system failure hasn’t
affected airport security operations of the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) even when uncertainty over fixing the problem has gloomed
the entire Terminal Seven. The server crash has allegedly taken place as an
ominous consequence of cutting-back in TSA screening staff, reports Sky News.
British Airways has sought
apologies through a statement for the inconveniences of its customers due to a
system failure at JFK airport in New York. Its staffs have worked hard to
assist customers to ensure flight departure during the outage. According to
Port Authority’s information, around 1,500 customers have been witnessed to
stand in queue for checking in.
During early Monday, the average flight delay in
JFK has reportedly been 35 minutes counting all terminals of the airport.
Though British Airlines have claimed for returning to normalcy, its staffs have
been witnessed to issue manual boarding passes even in the morning of Monday.
Airport authority has advised passengers to expect further delays and larger
crowds. 