Heathrow travellers face further delays

Travellers hoping to fly from the new Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport today face more delays from teething troubles with the computerised baggage handling system, British Airways said yesterday.

Nearly 250 flights have been cancelled since Thursday's chaotic opening of the $8.6 billion showcase terminal and more cancellations are due in coming days, giving the airline a financial and public relations headache.

"We are sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused to customers whose flights have been cancelled or whose bags have been delayed," said BA chief executive officer Willie Walsh, whose airline has exclusive use of the new facility.

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

"The baggage system is now generally working well. 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."

The airline could not predict when services would return to normal.

The airline also faces a sizeable compensation bill for passengers delayed and forced to stay overnight in hotels.

The Civil Aviation Authority said it had written to BA about reports it had only offered stranded passenger £100 pounds to cover hotels bills rather than meeting its legal obligation to provide a room irrespective of cost.

BA said it expected to operate the terminal at 87 per cent capacity today and tomorrow, against yesterday's 85 per cent.

The launch of the terminal has proved a public relations disaster for BA, which had hoped the new building would answer criticism prompted by overcrowding at the world's busiest international airport.

The problems have also triggered a fresh bout of soul-searching among Britons about their failure to deliver large infrastructure projects.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly yesterday said she had held talks with the airline and airport operator BAA, owned by Spain's Ferrovial, and was prepared to step in with unspecified help if it became necessary.

"Everything possible must be done to deliver a better service for passengers who are unfortunately still facing disruption and delays to their journeys," she said.

BA drafted in 400 extra staff yesterday to shift 15,000 items of baggage built up since Thursday.