Terminal Five, five days of chaos and counting
James Forsyth 9:46am
It is quite incredible that the problems at Terminal Five have still not been resolved. It is expected that 50 flights will be cancelled today, bringing the total since Thursday to over 400, while 28,000 bags are somewhere in this mess.
This is nothing short of a national disgrace and aside from the inconvenience being caused to passengers, huge damage is being done to the attractiveness of Britain as a place to do business. But no one at British Airways seems to think they should resign. At time like this, one really does wish that they had carried on with their rebranded tail fins and dropped the British bit of their name completely.
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Perry
April 1st, 2008 10:44am Report this comment“. . . This is nothing short of a national disgrace . . . ” yes indeedy, - but what an eloquent picture it paints of this woefully - ‘cool’ - do we say? – (small ’b’) britannia. Muddle, cost, pomposity, PR gibberish, delay, and intrusive obstruction to people trying to get on with their life.
Astounded!
April 1st, 2008 12:27pm Report this commentWith no new runways and presumably the same number of planes coming and going as in previous weeks how did they manage to make such a debacle of opening additional facilities dealing with the same level of demand?
EyeSee
April 1st, 2008 1:21pm Report this commentI loved the CEO of British Airways saying 'I'm responsible'. But he seemed to think saying that was enough. If he could have cared less, it would have been difficult to discern how.
Ray
April 1st, 2008 2:10pm Report this commentMove over, Millennium Dome. We now have a new icon to symbolise everything that is wrong with Britain under New Labour.
Simon
April 1st, 2008 2:20pm Report this commentTerminal 5 is "Britain under New Labour"? Private money to build a private building at a privatised airport. Starter for ten: who privatised the airports?
Caroline
April 1st, 2008 4:22pm Report this commentThe Blair Government made a huge mistake continuing with the Dome - a stupid left over Tory project if I remember correctly. I seem to recall Hezza in a hard hat?
EyeSee
April 1st, 2008 6:59pm Report this commentCaroline, it was mooted that we should have grand project in London to celebrate, under the Tories. But it was New Labour and in particular Peter Mandelson who were entirely responsible for the debacle that ensued. It set the Kite Mark for how NL expected people in positions of power to behave.
salieri
April 1st, 2008 10:08pm Report this commentSimon's point @ 2.20 remains unanswered. Much as T5 may embody the flatulent style-over-substance ethos of the government, in this instance at least Nu-Lab is not responsible for the debacle. And much as it echoes the Dome fiasco, this is not public money being flushed down the pan, merely public goodwill and reputation. The question it raises is why, time after time, Britain has become - with the shining exception of St. Pancras - an international byword for incompetent, over-hyped, mismanaged, consumer-hostile crap. Sorry to use that word in civilised circles but that's what BA and BAA both are.
Caroline
April 2nd, 2008 11:33am Report this commentEyeSee. I think it was more than 'mooted' wasn't it? Correct me if I'm wrong; sometimes it's a mercy that one's memory fades, but hadn't deals been agreed, contracts signed, money changed hands and the whole kit and caboodle well advanced before landing in Labour's lap? Which left Blair between a rock and a hard place whether to continue or not?
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