Heathrow Airport has apologised for disruption after the west London hub was hit by “technical issues”. A passenger said the situation was “utter chaos” after a problem with the airport’s IT system saw staff called in to help passengers get to gates. At about 22:25 GMT on Sunday, LHR tweeted, “Today’s technical issue has now been resolved and Heathrow’s systems are returning to normal.

“Our teams will continue to monitor our systems and be on hand to provide assistance to passengers as we work to resume our regular operations.”

British Airways, the biggest airline at Heathrow, cancelled 20 flights.

Air traffic control was not affected by the technical failures, but the IT issues, which came on a busy day for family travel, have further compounded delays triggered by bad weather across the weekend.

British Airways said the cancellations were the result of Heathrow’s IT issues combined with the existing disruption caused by Storm Dennis.

It added that anyone on a cancelled flight would be entitled to a refund or could be re-booked. Overnight accommodation would be provided if necessary.