It's been a rocky start for BAA Heathrow's Terminal 5. After receiving a Royal opening on March 14th, the £4.3 billion hub opened to public flights on March 27th only to be plagued by software problems causing baggage pileups, cancellations and delays to mass consternation. As BAA - who have exclusive use of the hub - began clearing the baggage backlog by shipping the bags abroad for manual sorting, the airport was hit by snow over the weekend grounding more flights.
A total of 34 flights were cancelled on Monday (April 7th) as a result of the knock-on effect from the weather. The weekend saw 150 cancelled flights after further software problems meant that the baggage system at Terminal 5 was shut down and BA resorted to manual sorting of bags. While the airline continues to catch up with the the problem, early estimates have put the cost to BA at over £16 million.
As day 14 of service at Heathrow Terminal 5 arrives, British Airways have announced that it will by operating its first full day of services. A BA spokesperson has stated: "We plan a full service today, all departures are going on time and we have got no cancellations."
British Airways are still sorting through approximately 5,000 bags and states on its website that "we are working hard to process delayed bags and reunite them with customers as quickly as possible." Passengers that have still yet to be reunited with their lost luggage are advised to register their details on the airlines baggage tracking system (which can be found here) which will be updated as bags are processed.
Passengers are still advised to check with the airline for arrivals and departures information before they head off for the airport.
With BAA promising a full day of uninterrupted service, today could finally see the start for BAA Heathrow Terminal 5 that was expected when Her Majesty The Queen proclaimed the terminal a "21st Century gateway to Britain."