BRITISH Airways has promised further investment in its operations at Heathrow Terminal 5 if an internal inquiry into the chaos during the opening three days finds that it needs more resources to cope with demand.
A spokeswoman for the airline, which has come under intense fire after cancelling more than 200 flights since Thursday, said: "Depending on what we find out… we will take that decision. Clearly we had plans for a successful opening of Terminal 5."
BA has launched an inquiry into "absolutely everything" that went wrong on the terminal's opening day on Thursday, after what was meant to be a huge publicity boost for the airline turned into a fiasco.
More than 70 flights were cancelled following problems with what had been touted as a "world class" baggage handling system, and those that did manage to travel had to wait up to four hours to reclaim luggage.
There were also delays as a result of "initial teething problems" with car parking and staff security screening. The chaos has continued into the weekend, with the number of cancelled flights reaching more than 200.
Business groups in Scotland have condemned the cancellation of a large number of flights to Scottish airports, saying it has caused big problems for the many business travellers who commute to London. Andy Willox, policy convener at the FSB in Scotland, said: "It is an open secret that flights to and from Scotland are the first to be scrapped."
BA has been forced to pull the plug on an advertising campaign due to start this week focused on the speed at which passengers can move through the terminal.
It is also understood that the airline's executives are urgently questioning whether to delay the transfer of a further 120 daily flights from other Heathrow terminals, due to take place at the end of April.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh has taken full responsibility for the failed opening, but says he won't be offering his resignation. "I came into BA to make T5 work, I am not going to step down because it didn't work on day one," he said.
The full article contains 364 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
