Fresh delays, cancellations as Virgin Blue IT system crashes again

Virgin Blue passengers are being warned to once again be prepared for delays after the computer check-in system at the airline’s Brisbane terminal briefly crashed.

Virgin Blue was forced to cancel more than 100 flights on Sunday due to an IT systems crash, stranding more than 100,000 passengers.

After further delays and cancellations on Monday, Virgin finally got stranded passengers home on Tuesday.

However, reports suggest that the airport check-in system crashed again on Wednesday morning, forcing Virgin to check passengers in manually.

A statement on the Virgin website says the system is now fully operational, although two flights on the busy Melbourne-to-Sydney route have been cancelled.

There have been delays of about an hour to flights at Brisbane and Melbourne airports, with airport officials advising passengers to keep an eye on flight details.

However Virgin says customers should “arrive at the airport as per your scheduled check-in time”.

The latest IT glitch will do little to restore confidence in Virgin Blue’s services, after what Virgin Group founder described as a “terrible” period for the airline.

Virgin faces a large compensation bill after offering to reimburse stranded passengers for accommodation and transport costs, and is considering launching legal action against the provider of its airport IT systems, US company Navitaire.