somersetbadger

Sat on the tarmac for 2 hours, looks like flight plan not submitted. Any ideas what is going on?

1Aturnleft

Might have something to do with the routing which typically would take you over Sudan. I'd have thought it might be prudent for alternative airspace to be secured under the current circumstances.

Airprox

It has now been delayed overnight until 4pm tomorrow.

somersetbadger

What! Not been told anything sit sat here in blissful ignorance

somersetbadger

Now being offloaded

Saladman

I love that people on the internet know what’s happening before passengers on the aircraft!

somersetbadger

Got the last room in the Bloc. Not happy at all and absolutely no support from BA other then you are booked on a flight tomorrow

Pilou

Rubbish situation to be in, I'm sorry. Save all your receipts and keep a log of who you speak to, what you are told, etc. I'm hopeful you'll be able to claim any costs back (certainly through travel insurance if not BA). Hopefully the flight - when it does happen - will be a memorable one for all the right reasons.

skipness1E

And remember, "Cost cutting is in our DNA".
Cos all of the staff that could have dealt with your immediate needs, who used to work for BA at LGW were managed out of the business.

Sigwx

Given the aircraft departed and then returned to stand with a tech issue, that might explain part of the 2 hour delay. As for invalid flight plans, I am not sure. Perhaps something to do with ETOPS alternatives no longer being valid due to the delay and the wx no longer making them suitable. The entirety of north and South Sudan is prohibited in any case so at no point was a flight plan constructed over that region, just to clarify given a previous post. No consolation for the naff customer service element once you had disembarked but you are in scope on the ec261 front at least. Sadly only hollow gestures of 'our language and style' are permitted as a retort to a complaint these days. The 'confederacy of dunces' believe that makes you all really happy and relieved, hence why they have a whole department decided to 'our style and language'.

salut0

Is that because the problem started with a tech issue? If it had just been rerouting around Sudan I suspect that wouldn’t have been in scope for EC261

Sigwx

Yes, the tech issue with a fuel pump generated the return to stand. The subsequent delay is likely what caused flight plan issues. The slightly longer routing is not sufficient enough to cause any real delay.

somersetbadger

Hi Guys. Thanks for all the messages

On the plane the Captain said they had an issue with the flight plan and a new one had to be generated. He said it was very complex and involved many telephone calls across countries. Anyway after a few hours couldn’t be resolved so offloaded.

just checked back in and looking forward to another day in Gatwick. I must say the lady from BA in the check in area this morning was brilliant and couldn’t be more helpful

Sigwx

It does sound like various airspace closures and or airfield closures have ultimately caused the postponement. That said if you were in the air on time without the tech issue, you’d already be applying the mosquito spray. Gradually more and more of the world has become impassable by air over this past 12-18 months, make that the past few years in fact. It makes finding a route that is acceptable to all agencies somewhat challenging at times. Hopefully you’ll be on your way without issue today.

corporate-wage-slave

So as you probably know, BA replaced their directly employed staff in LGW with staff from GGS, a wholly owned subsidiary that handles Gatwick ground services. It's often the same people as before but on worse terms and conditions, plus an element of "we're not BA, you'll have to call BA" - given the pay cut that's somewhat understandable if not the whole story. At the time your incident happened there could have been zero BA staff in LGW, or maybe just 1 duty manager, which isn't enough to answer 200 x the same questions. Ideally a letter would have been handed out explaining what to do. If not the captain or IFM should make a simple standard message explaining that you need to book a hotel yourself, sort out meals and claim them. That's just the shape of the world unfortunately and BA is far from alone in this approach.

In a way I prefer it since the old system was that you would wait for coaches to some grim Premier Inn off the M23 on the back end of Crawley, waiting if necessary for the very last passenger to retrieve their mountain of bags and go to the loo. Now I would check the app for any updates, then book any of Bloc / Hilton / Sofitel / Courtyard / hotels in Brighton or East Croydon - and be in my room within minutes.

There is this FT thread that is worth bookmarking if you are unsure of what to do:
Disruption Assistance thread - signposts and what you need to know