Terminal 5 launch disaster brings holiday chaos

Travellers faced severe delays at Heathrow's Terminal 5 on its opening day. The state of the art baggage system failed causing a huge backlog of passengers' bags. The system, which is capable of handling 12,000 bags an hour, failed due to a lack of staff unloading bags. This caused British Airways (the sole occupier of Terminal 5) to cancel at least 34 flights leaving many passengers stranded at Heathrow overnight. The news comes as British Airways was recently ranked second worst European Airline for lost luggage (reported 'In the News' 20 February 2008). British Airways hopes its move to the £4.3 billion new terminal will improve its baggage handling performance, however further delays are expected at Terminal 5.

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