BA Flies Empty Planes in Heathrow Bag Chaos

By JAMES DORAN

BRITISH AIRWAYS was forced to fly up to 10 empty planes from Heathrow this summer because of chaos at the airport.

The airline sent the flights empty because the airport could not process passengers and baggage in time.

The revelation was disclosed by Sir Michael Bishop, chairman of rival airline BMI, which owns BA franchise, BMED, that operates the Middle East flights.

He said Heathrows owner, BAA, had to improve its act and its trashed reputation, adding: It must be rebuilt from the bottom up.

Sir Michael said BAA, owned by Spanish building group Ferrovial, had failed to deal with problems such as security, queues and delays. They sat on their hands and thought it would go away, he told the Financial Times.

The problems are now so bad that BMI has postponed plans to launch transatlantic flights from Heathrow until 2009.

The airline, the second biggest operating out of Heathrow, believes the disruption will continue even after the opening of Terminal 5, which most BA flights will transfer to.

It also fears the reorganisation of the airport that will come with the opening of T5 will itself be chaotic. Sir Michael said passenger numbers had already been hit and there had been a significant reduction in transfer traffic through Heathrow as international travellers opted to avoid the airport, the worlds busiest.

In recent weeks, BAA, which operates seven UK airports, has suffered a storm of criticism over its management.

Since Ferrovial took control last year, it has lost its chairman, chief executive, finance director, security chief, Terminal 5 chairman and the head of human resources.

BA said it would not comment.

Have you been caught up in delays at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted? Email airportmisery@standard.co.uk

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