REUTERS-230904-GENFAX2262367-SCOTSMAN
UPDATE 2-Lufthansa cancels flights after computer fault (Updates cancellations, adds Unisys, BMI, analyst comments.)
FRANKFURT, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa had to cancel 29 European flights, and services across its global network were delayed, following a computer fault in its check-in system, the airline said on Thursday.
The company’s Star airline alliance partners BMI, LOT and Austrian Airlines were also affected by the problem with the Unisys computer system, Star said.
More than half of the scrapped flights were on Lufthansa’s domestic German services, while short-haul and long-haul departures were delayed by up to 90 minutes. Some freight normally carried by plane had to be transported by truck.
“Passengers are being checked in by hand at the moment,” Europe’s third-biggest airline said. The problem also affected Lufthansa’s regional airlines, including Eurowings and Air Dolomiti.
At Berlin’s Tegel airport there were long queues as clerks had to hand-write tickets and tell passengers there was no assigned seating. At Munich airport people were scrambling for seats, with elderly people being pushed aside as they tried to get to the front of the queue.
A Lufthansa clerk said the problem was not caused by a virus but by the launch of a new computer programme overnight which brought the system down.
A spokeswoman for BMI, which uses the same check-in computer system, said the airline’s network was also suffering delays, though BMI had not cancelled any flights.
Lufthansa said a team of specialists was trying to solve the computer glitch and that Lufthansa was confident it would be repaired in the next few hours so that normal service could resume Thursday afternoon.

08.00 LH4771 DUSSELDORF AIRBORNE 1022 2
08.15 BD481 MADRID AIRBORNE 1027 1
08.25 BD145 BRUSSELS AIRBORNE 1106 1
08.25 BD103 AMSTERDAM AIRBORNE 1027 1
08.35 BD052 EDINBURGH GATE OPEN 1
08.50 BD002 GLASGOW AIRBORNE 1107 1
08.55 BD082 BELFAST CITY AIRBORNE 1112 1
08.55 BD412 LEEDS/BRADFORD AIRBORNE 1116 1
08.55 BD674 ABERDEEN AIRBORNE 1105 1
09.05 LH4723 FRANKFURT AIRBORNE 1113 2
09.05 BD584 MANCHESTER 1 ?
09.05 BD465 NAPLES AIRBORNE 1038 1
09.20 BD123 DUBLIN GATE CLOSED 1
09.20 LH6731 DUBLIN GATE CLOSED 1
09.20 SK9757 DUBLIN GATE CLOSED 1
10.40 LO282 WARSAW 1 ?
10.40 BD054 EDINBURGH PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE 1
10.45 SK2520 STAVANGER TAXIED 1149 3
10.45 BD817 HANOVER 1 ?
10.45 BD105 AMSTERDAM PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE 1
11.10 BD084 BELFAST CITY 1 ?
11.15 BD004 GLASGOW PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE 1
11.15 BD163 PALMA MALLORCA GATE OPEN 1
12.20 BD149 BRUSSELS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR AIRLINE 1