British Airways left me and my family stranded in Madrid – an unacceptable and stressful experience. We were scheduled to return from Madrid to Seattle (via London) with British Airways. I had purchased four roundtrip tickets for myself, my wife, my 64-year-old mother-in-law, and my 6-year-old nephew. We arrived at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport at 10:30 AM—90 minutes before departure—with only carry-on luggage, having checked in online the night before. While the system issued digital boarding passes for my wife and me, it failed to generate them for my mother-in-law and nephew. We tried to print their boarding passes at the airport, but there were no British Airways staff available at the counter to assist us, and no posted instructions on what to do in such cases. We made over seven phone calls to the British Airways contact number, each resulting in a message that the line was not working. (We have screenshots to prove this.) In desperation, we attempted to pass through security, but were denied because two members of our party lacked boarding passes. Despite having checked in and confirmed all four seats, no one from British Airways reached out to us or provided any assistance. We were simply left to fend for ourselves. The situation became increasingly stressful and emotional—especially with a child and an elderly family member involved. We missed both our connecting flight to London and the transatlantic flight to Seattle, ultimately spending more than six hours at the airport trying to figure out what to do. Eventually, Iberia agents (who share the terminal with British Airways) arrived to assist their customers. When we explained our situation, they kindly provided alternative phone numbers. After finally reaching a British Airways representative, we were shocked by the lack of empathy or accountability. The representative told us we were considered “no-shows” and that there was nothing they could do. Even when we escalated the issue and asked to speak with a manager, the response was the same—cold, dismissive, and devoid of any attempt to make things right. We asked about rebooking at a discounted rate, but were told we would need to purchase entirely new tickets at full price. This experience was not only incredibly frustrating—it was financially devastating. We paid over $3,700 for tickets we never got to use, and in the end, had to purchase new tickets at a cost of over $5,000 just to get home. I filed a formal claim, as advised, only to receive a generic apology about the website being down. British Airways took no responsibility for their failure to assist us and denied any refund. I can no longer recommend British Airways to anyone. Their lack of customer care, accountability, and basic human empathy was shocking. With so many airlines that genuinely value their passengers, there’s simply no reason to subject yourself to this kind of treatment. We will not be flying with them again.

Our flight was delayed 20hr due to concerns with the plane, which was unfortunate, but obviously we want a safe plane. We were told multiple times at the airport that we would get replayed for the taxi home and could not get a voucher. We changed our connecting flight and our connecting train times and went home, came back and our flight was delayed a further 2 hours and we missed both the train and the flight. I requested repayment for the taxi, train, and hotel night and the response I got is that they are “not legally required to repay anything”. They referred me to talk to customer service as there is no way to call the claim line and customer service referred me to the email from claims. I then emailed again to claims and they referred me back to customer service. I will never fly British air again if I can

We (a group of four teachers and 14 students)were late departing Heathrow and missed our connection in Seattle. It took almost 5 hours to get vouchers for a hotel. Jasper was a great help, but the elements beyond her control need serious work. It should not take 5 hours to get a voucher and then 3 miles to the hotel. Piss poor policy!

Seriously. These reviews tell you something. Flew this airline to England for Christmas, checked my bag and it’s lost. I have filed a claim, called customer service and my family has emailed executives. When I got a response they assured me it was at my final destination. Went down to the airport twice and was walked through every lost luggage container. I was sent on a wild goose chase. My sentimental things are gone forever and no one cares. Someone really needs to take these big wigs down a peg.

I filed a claim for a flight that was back in August. I have been unable to speak to an actual human regarding this. The other travelers with the same tour group have already had their claims completed more than a month ago. I received one email requesting more info, to which I quickly responded, more than 6 weeks ago and nothing since. I've emailed repeatedly. I've tried calling. I've tried online chats, but they're bots. This should not be so complicated. This should not take this long.

British Airways changed my flights around during the global computer outage. They claimed my flights were "cancelled", they weren't. I tried to call them to change the flights, they had extremely long hold times so I could not get a hold of them to change the flight. "Accepted" the new flights only so I wouldn't have to rebook the entire trip. Called customer service today hoping to get some understanding and moving things back to my original booking. No, going back to my original booking would cost $269.00. It's not enough that I've already paid them $4000 for the tickets to begin with, they have to try screwing me out of more money. One of the worst customer service experiences of any airline. Never again.