BA Cancels Flights as T5 Chaos Continues

It was not, he admitted, BA's "finest hour" and, he added, "the buck stops with me".

His performance was certainly rather more assured than Gareth Kirkwood, the airline's director of operations, when he appeared on the floor of Terminal 5 on Thursday.

Mr Kirkwood resembled the original rabbit dazzled by the headlights. He read a statement and then scuttled off at some speed, accompanied by his minder, refusing to take any questions.

It was, in short, a public relations disaster.

"BA made the mistake of over-hyping expectations," said Paul Charles, Virgin Atlantic's head of communications.

 

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- British Airways Plc canceled morethan 70 flights at London Heathrow airport's new Terminal 5after the building's chaotic opening spilled into a second day.

Delays at staff car parks and security and computer long-onfailures for baggage handlers yesterday resulted in ``operationalproblems'' throughout the day, British Airways said in astatement. The carrier didn't specify what went wrong today andairport owner BAA Ltd. declined to comment on the cancellations.

Europe's third-biggest carrier is counting on the 4.3 billion-pound ($8.6 billion) Terminal 5 to ease journeys and retainpassengers disillusioned with Heathrow's overcrowding. The airlinehas Europe's worst record for lost luggage and is second-worstfor delayed bags, according to the Air Transport Users Council.

``The shambles we have seen at Terminal 5 is yet anotherdepressing chapter for the U.K.'s crumbling transport system,''David Frost, Director General of the British Chamber of Commerce,said by e-mail. ``This is a PR disaster at a time when Londonand the U.K. are positioning themselves as global players.''