It does not surprise me that Dido Harding was clueless about TalkTalk's IT system failure (TalkTalk boss receives 'ransom demand' after sustained cyber-attack, 24 October).
"Today, we have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruptions to our flight operations worldwide," British Airways chief executive Alex Cruz said in a video message, as reports spread of errors on its website, ticket machines, baggage terminals and technical infrastructure.
Supporters pointed out that Bawa-Garba had just returned from an extended leave of absence; that three medical colleagues were absent for much of her shift; she had had no break; there was an IT system failure at a crucial time; and that she had to deal with other seriously ill children.
It comes three weeks after an IT system failure caused chaos for thousands of British Airways passengers.
At 1pm a British Airways spokesman said: "We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide.
"The cause of the delay was human error, not an IT systems failure," an HSBC spokesperson said.
A major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide," said CEO Alex Cruz in a video statement.
Bostock's departure comes as RBS faces criticism over IT systems failures that left customers unable to withdraw cash last week for three hours, and allegations about its treatment of small businesses.
In the second case, where pilots had not been adequately briefed on how to override it, the system failure is more likely to crash the aircraft.
However, as with any IT system, occasional system failures are inevitable, even if infrequent: GP8: "...we have encountered at the recipients' end... we have sent a referral and I don't know of any that have been lost, but some have been incomplete upon receipt: they appeared to leave us intact, but attachments and so on, things are sometimes lost... in the sending process.
What happens if a robot's motors stop working, or it suffers a system failure just as it is performing heart surgery or handing you a cup of hot coffee?
