British Airways passengers face 3rd day of disruption

Thousands of passengers of the beleaguered British Airways faced a third day of disruption at Heathrow on Monday after a global computer crash that unions blamed on outsourcing of IT services to India that grounded planes, causing millions of pounds to the airline.

The airline is "closer to full operational capacity" after an IT power cut resulted in mass flight cancellations at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Thousands of passengers remain displaced, with large numbers sleeping overnight in terminals. The British Airways has not explained the cause of the power problem. So far today, 13 short-haul flights at Heathrow, Europe's busiest, have been cancelled.

Some British media reports today suggested that BA could be hit with a bill for compensation costs of more than 100 million.The BA is liable to reimburse thousands of passengers for refreshments and hotel expenses, and travel industry commentators have suggested the cost to the company - part of Europe's largest airline group IAG - could run into tens of millions of pounds.

Customers displaced by flight cancellations can claim up to £200 a day for a room, £50 for transport between the hotel and airport, and £25 a day per adult for meals and refreshments, the BBC reported.

Heathrow advised affected BA passengers not to travel to the airport unless their flights had been rebooked, or were scheduled to take off on Monday.

Passengers on cancelled flights have been told to use the BA website to rebook.

Chief executive Alex Cruz has posted videos on Twitter apologising for what he called a "horrible timefor passengers".