TUI Airways passengers face 50-hour delay nightmare in Corfu amid global IT outage

TUI Airways passengers booked on flight BY 2519 on July 19 endured a 50-hour delay and severe disruption at Corfu Airport after a global IT outage led to widespread travel chaos. The outage, which affected airports worldwide, resulted in the cancellation and delay of thousands of flights, including many operated by TUI.

Passengers scheduled to fly from Corfu to Manchester faced significant delays and cancellations due to the IT failure, which disrupted online check-ins and airport departure screens. Indeed, the outbound flight BY2518 from Manchester to Corfu on July 19 (Boeing 737-800 G-TAWI) took off and shortly thereafter landed again in Manchester due to the CrowdStrike update failure.

Travellers, including some who had booked package holidays, were forced to book their own accommodations as the airport and local hotels were overwhelmed. Many spent nights in the airport due to a lack of available rooms.

TUI informed passengers of the delays via email and attempted to reschedule flights. Affected travellers received updates indicating that flights were rescheduled for up to 51 hours later than originally planned. The airline has promised to reimburse reasonable expenses and is offering refunds and vouchers for future travel.

TUI issued a public apology for the inconvenience and stated that passengers could expect delays and cancellations throughout the weekend. The airline assured that it would process refunds and provide compensation to those affected.

This long delay on a TUI flight was matched by a similar delay on TUI fly Belgium flight TB3581 from Naples to Brussels via Palermo on the same date (July 19).

The IT outage highlights the vulnerability of global travel infrastructure to technological failures, leaving many travellers stranded and frustrated as they awaited resolution.