Disruption At Terminal 5 Set To Continue

Mon, 31 Mar 2008

British Airways has admitted the chaos at Heathrow's new terminal could continue throughout this week, with the multi-billion-pound facility struggling to cope with a massive backlog of lost luggage .

The airline announced a further 104 flights will be cancelled over the next two days, meaning over 300 flights have now been grounded at the airport since Terminal 5's chaotic opening last Thursday.

Passengers at the terminal have been left devastated by a major computer glitch in the luggage handling system, which has resulted in over 15,000 pieces of baggage being misplaced.

The carrier said that 400 of its staff members had volunteered to work on Sunday to help return the lost luggage to their rightful owners. BA said it operated 85 per cent of flights at Terminal 5 yesterday, and would run 87 per cent today and tomorrow, but was unable to say how long the disruption would continue.

The company, which has sole use of the new terminal, added that passengers affected by delays and cancellations would be informed by email or text message in advance.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh, commented: “Since Thursday, when Terminal 5 opened, we have made clear that the service we have provided has not been good enough. We apologise sincerely to our customers.”

Business leaders have slammed the situation at Heathrow, calling it a public relations disaster for BA, London and Britain .

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