BA Cancels Flights in New Heathrow Terminal Chaos (
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British Airways has a long way to go to with pleasing customers in its new opening of Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 amid chaotic service and cancelled flights.HEATHROW (Reuters)
- British Airways cancelled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6
billion terminal at London's Heathrow airport as its high profile
launch gave way to a second day of chaos and embarrassment on Friday.
BA said it dropped the short-haul flights to ease congestion as it
tried to recover from the mess left by Thursday's opening when nearly
70 flights were cancelled, leaving passengers distraught.
BA's problems provoked a public relations disaster for the carrier
that once styled itself the "world's favorite airline" -- and weighed
on its shares.
Chief Executive Willie Walsh warned travelers problems could persist into the weekend.
"I would expect some disruption tomorrow (Saturday), but I think it
will get better every day as we become accustomed to the building and
the quirks of the systems," he said.
"Yesterday was definitely not British Airways' finest hour," he
said. "There were problems in the car parks, airport areas, computer
glitches and the baggage system."
Jackie Bachmann, 40, from Switzerland encountered baggage problems
as she traveled with four other snooker players to an amateur
competition in Glasgow.
"We had problems with our bags and his snooker cue is missing," she
said. "Now we are waiting here for the next flight to Glasgow."
British Airways has a long way to go to with pleasing customers in its new opening of Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 amid chaotic service and cancelled flights.HEATHROW (Reuters)
- British Airways cancelled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6
billion terminal at London's Heathrow airport as its high profile
launch gave way to a second day of chaos and embarrassment on Friday.
BA said it dropped the short-haul flights to ease congestion as it
tried to recover from the mess left by Thursday's opening when nearly
70 flights were cancelled, leaving passengers distraught.
BA's problems provoked a public relations disaster for the carrier
that once styled itself the "world's favorite airline" -- and weighed
on its shares.
Chief Executive Willie Walsh warned travelers problems could persist into the weekend.
"I would expect some disruption tomorrow (Saturday), but I think it
will get better every day as we become accustomed to the building and
the quirks of the systems," he said.
"Yesterday was definitely not British Airways' finest hour," he
said. "There were problems in the car parks, airport areas, computer
glitches and the baggage system."
Jackie Bachmann, 40, from Switzerland encountered baggage problems
as she traveled with four other snooker players to an amateur
competition in Glasgow.
"We had problems with our bags and his snooker cue is missing," she
said. "Now we are waiting here for the next flight to Glasgow."
IT Management 
