Passengers prepare for a second day of disruption at Terminal 5
Terminal 5 is bracing itself for yet another day of chaos at the newly opened £4.3 billion facility, after 34 flights were cancelled yesterday (March 27).
British Airways, the sole occupier of the new terminal, blamed the problems on a lack of staff to properly process luggage using the building's new baggage system.
This was the result of delays in the staff car park and at security and log in, which meant that the baggage handlers had difficulty reporting for duty, leading to the operational problems throughout the day associated with processing customers' baggage, said the airline.
As a result of the baggage backlog, all hold luggage services were suspended shortly before 5pm, with some flights leaving half-empty and with passengers carrying only hand luggage.
Passengers who had arrived on inbound flights faced up to four hours of waiting to reclaim their luggage, while others were left stranded and spent the night on the floor of the new building, reports the Times.
British Airways issued a statement from its chief executive Willie Walsh in the early hours of this morning, who offered his sincere apologises to those customers who had suffered disrupted journeys or baggage delays during the terminal's first day.
"We always knew the first day would represent a unique challenge. A number of early problems grew during the course of the day which led to significant disruption for our customers.
"I am very sorry that the problems have meant that some of our customers did not experience the true potential of this amazing new building. Terminal 5 is a magnificent piece of transport infrastructure that will be enjoyed over the coming decades by hundreds of millions of customers."
He went on to express his thanks to colleagues at BAA "who are working alongside us to resolve the issues".
"Whatever short-term difficulties there may be, we have no doubt that it will prove to be a facility of which we, and the whole country, will feel proud," he said.
The airline added that it planned to operate 80 per cent of its flights today from Terminal 5, including all long-haul services, and was closely monitoring the situation.
However, local Conservative MP David Wilshire, said it was not clear whether BA or the airport's owner, BAA, was to blame for yesterday's chaos, adding that it was important to get to the real truth of the situation.
"'Not my fault, guv, maybe his fault guv' is, I think, a bit of the problem," he told the BBC.
"And we won't get to the bottom of this until we know a bit more. What we have to find out is why this has happened and make sure it's put right and hope that this is really a starting glitch. People have been let down, let's be honest about it."
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