BRITISH Airways has cancelled all flights from Gatwick Airport as computer problems cause disruption worldwide. 

Passengers have been told not to travel to Gatwick and Heathrow because of "extreme congestion" at the terminals, with all BA planes grounded before 6pm on Saturday. 

The airline blamed the computer failure on a "major IT system failure" that has caused disruption to BA flights worldwide.

The airline denied they were under a cyber-attack. 

A spokeswoman for the airline said: "The terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick have become extremely congested and we have cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick before 6pm UK time today, so please do not come to the airports.

"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."

Travellers have been told to check the airline website and twitter account for updates about the situation.

It comes as scores of Britons headed overseas for the long weekend and half-term school holidays on Saturday morning.