British Airways chief calls Heathrow 5 opening a disaster

 British Airways CEO Willie Walsh told a House of Commons committee late yesterday that the opening of London Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 amounted to a “disaster.” Walsh also went further by referring to Heathrow Airport as a “national embarrassment” for the United Kingdom. British Members of Parliament (MPs) asked Walsh, as well as representatives of BAA, Heathrow’s operator, various pointed questions about the unprecedented debacle that ensued following the opening of Terminal 5. Walsh seemed to take some responsibility for the fiasco, telling MPs that the UK’s flag carrier had “let its customers down” and that it “could have done better and should have done better.” BA’s chief, however, refused to resign, even though he assumed responsibility for some of the problems.

Parliamentarians found out that 125 passengers were still waiting to be sent their lost luggage, more than a month since the opening of Terminal 5. Moreover, lingering problems remain at T-5. For example, a BAA representative told MPs that 17 elevators were still non-functional at the airport.

Walsh noted that one of the main problems was that British Airways failed to provide its staff with the necessary training, in order to cope with potential problems and a new working environment at T-5. The BA chief also observed that if the opening could be done again, he would “do things differently.”

BAA’s chief executive, Colin Matthews, was also present at the hearing and offered his “unreserved” apologies for the T-5 debacle.