BA drafts in volunteers help to clear T5 bag backlog

More than 400 British Airways volunteers have been trying to relieve a massive luggage backlog at Heathrow Terminal 5.

The effort to return 15,000 bags to passengers came after the disastrous opening of the £4.3 million new building last Thursday which saw baggage system problems and flights cancelled or delayed over the weekend.

The airline faces the prospect of multi-million pound compensation claims from disrupted passengers and the likely loss of £20 million due to the cancellation of more than 200 flights, according to reports. 

More than 50 flights from T5 today and tomorrow are expected to be cancelled. Further flight disruption is likely throughout the week.

Rival bmi said it was is making “every effort” to carry passengers stranded by BA’s problems at Terminal 5.

“Already a significant number of travellers heading to and from destinations including Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast City, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester are switching to bmi flights operating normally to and from Terminal 1 after an agreement was reached by the two airlines,” a spokesman said.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said yesterday (Sunday) that the baggage system was “generally working well”.

He said: “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.”

But Walsh admitted: “A backlog of undelivered bags has built up. This backlog is not affecting the day-to-day operation of the baggage system, and we are making every effort to reunite delayed bags with their owners.

“We have more than 400 volunteers from across the airline supporting this effort.

“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.”  

He added: “We are sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused to customers whose flights have been cancelled or whose bags have been delayed.

“We will not rest until our service has been restored to the high standard customers rightly expect.

“We continue to work towards increasing the number of services in the days ahead.        

“Both British Airways and BAA have invested an enormous amount of time and effort to create Terminal 5. We remain confident that these early difficulties can be overcome, and that the terminal will be highly valued by customers and our staff in the near future and for many years to come.”

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by Phil Davies