British Airways delay because "third-party" systems were down

SamDude

Hi all, this is on behalf of family members that travelled on British Airways from Nairobi (NBO) to London Heathrow (LHR). The flight was delayed by around 3.5 hours.

Do 'third-party' system failures count as airline responsibility for flight delays?

During check-in at NBO, the systems used by British Airways was down and passengers were being manually processed. During this time, there was no communication about the ongoing delay/duration or offer of food vouchers. Passengers were told that the "systems in London" were down - but no other airlines/flights at NBO were delayed, and no flights arriving/departing at LHR were affected.

I logged a flight delay claim with BA a few weeks ago, and have had a response.
It states, "Your claim's been refused because the flight was delayed because of 3rd party computer failure. The delay was out of our control and caused unforeseen disruption to our schedule."

I do not see "third-party systems" as extraordinary circumstances - to BA passengers, they are dealing with BA and are not concerned with their suppliers and dependencies.
I replied to their rejection and stated that BA should have backup processes in place, and their poor system resilience is not an "extraordinary situation" for rejecting the flight delay claim.

Their latest (and final) response is "...we believe we’ve dealt with your case fairly and appropriately. We’re unable to respond to any further requests for compensation."

They have provided details of CEDR if I wish to escalate the dispute.

Before I escalate to CEDR, for which there is a fee of £25(?) - I wanted to check if there is a precedence for claiming for a (third-party) system outage? 
Does this fall in or out of the 'exceptional circumstances' where a claim is rejected?

silvercar

Have a read here : https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/2106171-2023-ba-compensation-thread-your-guide-regulation-ec261-uk261.html

[Deleted User]

You are right, computer failures are not uncommon. Backup procedures are something any reasonable business would plan for.

SamDude

Thanks all, CEDR case filed...

SamDude

Update:

BA have offered a settlement via CEDR: "In order to bring this matter to an amicable conclusion and save both parties further inconvenience, British Airways has asked us to advise you that on this occasion it will make you an offer of settlement."

I've accepted it and am now waiting for the £520 to be paid in the next few weeks.