Flights cancelled at Terminal 5
[31st March 2008]
For the fifth day in a row there are flight cancellations at Heathrow Terminal 5 today as British Airways struggles to clear a mountain of baggage.
BA says that all long haul flights from T5 will operate as planned. But there have already been 54 flights cancelled on domestic and European routes from Terminal 5 today. Once again the advice is to check arrivals and departures information on the BA website.
The troubled airline maintains that all passengers using T5 today will be able to check in with both hand luggage and hold baggage. It also says that flights to and from Heathrow Terminals 1 and 4 will operate normally.
British Airways is now working to try to clear the mountain of luggage that has accumulated at Terminal 5. Around 15,000 delayed bags are waiting to be reunited with their owners. BA insists this is not currently affecting the operation of the baggage system.
“The baggage system is now generally working better. From time to time problems have developed that were not encountered during the extensive trials. These issues are being addressed as they arise by a team of engineers and IT specialists from BAA and BA,” says BA chief executive, Willie Walsh.
BA admits that clearing the backlog of bags is time consuming. “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 adds.
More flight cancellations at Terminal 5 can be expected for the rest of this week. During its launch phase Terminal 5 should be able to handle 40,000 passengers a day. But so far it has not been able to cope with anywhere near these numbers. Longer term T5 has been designed to handle 70,000 passengers a day.
Written by: Nick Purdom
Save up to 60% and book your Heathrow Airport parking at an unbeatable price with Holiday Extras
Related News Articles
Clocks go back October | Clocks change Autumn 2011 - 26/10/2011
Pull the curtains, grab a blanket and get cosy, on Sunday October 30 2011 it's time to put your clocks back.Summer holiday bargains | Travellers wait to grab last minute deals - 15/08/2011
UK holiday-makers are holding out for last minute travel bargains this summer, and nabbing some great deals.Glasgow Airport Roadworks - 15/08/2011
Allow more time when travelling to and from Glasgow Airport. Roadworks are expected to cause delays until May 5th.
