BA execs leave after Terminal 5 debacle
[16th April 2008]
Two of the British Airways management team who helped mastermind the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 have left their jobs with the airline.
Customer services director David Noyes and operations director Gareth Kirkwood appear to be casualties of the disastrous opening of T5.
In a short press statement BA said: "British Airways has announced today that Gareth Kirkwood, director of operations, and David Noyes, director of customer services, will be leaving the company. The airline is looking to appoint a chief operations officer to combine both roles. The departures follow the airline's move to Terminal 5".
At a press conference before the ill-fated opening of Terminal 5, Noyes had told reporters: “You can expect no more than one person in front of you at check in” – words that soon came back to haunt him. He had also stated “T5 is our chance to put convenience and pleasure back into flying”. So far there has been precious little convenience or pleasure for passengers using the new terminal.
Operations director Gareth Kirkwood worked on the opening of Terminal 5 for 18 months and proclaimed the opening day to be a success before the situation clearly got out of hand and he was captured on camera apparently fleeing from reporters.
Terminal 5 has now been operating comparatively smoothly for just over a week but thousands of bags appear to have been lost following the initial problems with the baggage handling system.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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