BA tackles Terminal 5 bags backlog
[2nd April 2008]
British Airways is using sorting centres in Gatwick, Manchester, Scotland and Milan to try to clear the mountain of bags that has built up as a result of the disastrous opening of Heathrow Terminal 5.
There are believed to still be around 20,000 pieces of delayed hold baggage waiting to be returned to their owners after the baggage handling system at T5 failed on the terminal’s opening day last Thursday.
Now BA has admitted it is sending some of the bags by road to Milan to be sorted. “For those customers in EU countries on the European mainland we are also sending bags to a specialist sorting facility in Milan which will help to get bags back to those customers as soon as we can,” says BA chief executive, Willie Walsh.
For customers in the US, BA says it is using space on flights from Heathrow Terminal 4 to send luggage back to the US. More than 400 volunteers from the airline are helping to sort the bags.
“This work takes time as delayed bags must undergo enhanced levels of security screening. Much of this process has to be done manually because we have been unable to use the Terminal 5 baggage system to process these bags automatically,” Walsh explains.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has commented on the T5 fiasco at his regular press conference. “I am sorry about the trouble that’s been caused at Heathrow as a result of the failure to get the baggage handling system in line for Terminal 5. BA and BAA have to take responsibility and make sure that passengers can both get their baggage and flights can be restored to normal,” the PM said.
There have been more flight cancellations at Terminal 5 today. BA says that 342 out of 392 flights will operate to and from T5 today. All long haul flights should operate as planned, but some domestic and European flights have been cancelled. Tomorrow BA expects to operate 364 out of the scheduled 396 flights to and from Terminal 5.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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