Liz Hurley is among the hundreds of British Airways customers who have struggled with IT chaos

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Liz Hurley was among hundreds of British Airways customers stranded at airports and on runways for hours as Christmas flights suffered an IT glitch.

The UK’s national carrier has had to apologize for canceling dozens of flights to and from America, including 15 that were due to depart Heathrow on Tuesday.

Actress and model Hurley was among those caught up in the chaos, bemoaning a 20-hour delay that left her without food or water on the Caribbean island of Antigua.

As the airline scrambled to clear a backlog, British Airways launched an urgent investigation into pilot planning software provided by German airline Lufthansa, which was blamed for the chaos.

The airline uses Lufthansa’s Lido system, which allows pilots to plan routes and navigate in inclement weather.

Lido is popular among a number of other airlines including the German airline itself and BA’s sister airlines such as Iberia and Vueling, as well as its rival Virgin Atlantic. It is understood that other airlines were not similarly affected.

The BA said the IT issues were resolved shortly after 8:00 am.

More than 30 flights between North America and the Caribbean were canceled or disrupted overnight – leaving thousands of customers racing to secure a different flight in time for Christmas.

Lufthansa said it was helping BA ascertain the root cause of the IT malfunction.

Claire Turvey, a London public relations executive returning home from Boston, said her flight had been stuck on the tarmac for three and a half hours.

She said:[I] On the phone with British Airways for 2 hours and no one can help! I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. It’s a mess. “

It was not clear whether the delay in Mrs. Hurley’s flight was a direct result of an IT glitch, or whether a separate problem had been exacerbated by it.

“I’m still stuck – no food, no water, no hotel. Pretty dodgy service,” she said.

I wrote later:

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