Read the travellers' tales

Chaos and delays at Heathrow’s new Terminal Five will continue across the weekend after British Airways cancelled 54 of tomorrow's flights, write Fran Yeoman and Nico Hines.

After yesterday’s disastrous first day open for business, BA operated only 80 per cent of its flights today.

Tomorrow, the airline announced that 293 out of 347 scheduled flights were expected to run from Terminal 5, including all long haul operations.

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BACKGROUND

• T5: 'More akin to a band-aid applied to a severed limb'

• Heathrow chaos to continue over weekend

• Heathrow T5 chaos: travellers' tales

• Commentary: what a shambles

• Your views on BA - the world's least favourite airline?

Multimedia

• Pictures: Heathrow's Terminal 5 chaos

Related Links

• Your views on BA - the world's least favourite airline?

• Q&A: travel advice for Heathrow T5 passengers

• Heathrow Terminal Five: The word on the pilots' grapevine

Multimedia

• Video: Chaos at Terminal 5

• Ben Webster on BA and the blame game

• Heathrow Terminal 5 - the first day

• Video tour: inside Heathrow Terminal Five

Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive - who earlier apologised for the terminal's opening day problems - claimed that a "larger proportion" of the company's flying programme would take place tomorrow as some of its problems were being solved.

However, Mr Walsh also suggested that the planned move of more of BA’s Heathrow operations to T5 could be delayed because of the problems of the last two days.

Until April 30, the new terminal is operating at only around 50 per cent capacity before more BA flights move over from Terminal Four. If this move were to be postponed, it could put BA at loggerheads with other airlines who want to expand into T4.

Mr Walsh said: "We are going to review the T4 move [but] at this point I am still working on the basis that the move will go ahead."

So far today, 36 flights out of T5 – all of them short-haul – and 42 inbound have been cancelled. It is estimated that between 11,000 and 14,000 passengers could have been affected today.

Mr Walsh said that both the airline and BAA, the airport operator, had made mistakes.

He apologised to passengers, conceding: “Yesterday was definitely not British Airways’ finest hour".

But he said that he would not be considering his own position. “There is work to be done and I intend to do it,” he said.

As baggage check-ins at the £4.3 billion facility re-opened today, arguments broke out between passengers who started queuing as early as 4am.

Many missed their flights, with some blaming a lack of desks open to cope with the number of people and the wrong information being given out.

BA, the sole occupant of the new terminal, said today that they had drafted in extra staff and had held meetings through the night to try to ease the problems that wrecked what should have been a landmark day yesterday.

Two members of the airline's volunteer staff, wearing "Can I help" t-shirts, told Times Online: "We got one day's training. We're dealing with the staff by helping them to know where to go. A lot of them are really irate today. Only one out of the six staff security points was working so there was a big log jam - it was worse than yesterday.

"There's not much we can do though. It's very difficult as we've only had 20 minutes of training. There should have been more. We're directing people to go into areas we have never been into. There was a lot of information in a short amount of time. Customers are getting cross because we don't have the knowledge to help them."

A spokesman said that yesterday’s difficulties – including delays at the staff car park and at security, as well as log-in problems for baggage handlers reporting for duty leading to delays processing customers’ baggage – had a knock-on effect today.

The problems culminated in baggage check-in being suspended at T5 last night, and left many passengers stranded overnight with some forced to sleep on benches or the terminal floor.

Passengers hoping to fly out today began arriving early but were met with frustration.

Tony Pascoe, 35, from Witney, Oxfordshire, said he arrived just after 4am with his mother Ann for a holiday to Vienna - her first flight.

He said: “None of the desks were open and we were told to stand in a queue. After standing there for God knows how long they opened one and people who had just walked into the terminal began jumping in. It was chaotic. I feel like just giving up and going home but my mum is keen to fly because it is her first ever trip. There were lots of other people in the same situation and we all seemed to be getting the wrong information.

“It is diabolical. I am a frequent traveller and this is the worst experience ever - it is absolutely shocking.”

Thomas Fischer, from Zurich, Switzerland, told Times Online that BA had lost his £700, handmade snooker cue, which he was due to take to Glasgow to play in the European Team Championship on Sunday.

“The cue is priceless, to me. I won’t stand a chance without it,” said Mr Fischer, 32. “This is disastrous, utterly disastrous.”

Sky News reported that BA pilots, writing on their union’s website, had condemned the airline’s top management for yesterday’s disaster.

“This was a complete failure of planning by the leadership”, one wrote, “lions led by donkeys.” Another said that the chaos had “embarrassed our nation”.

Today, the British Airways website was offering customers advice on what to do if a flight is cancelled up to March 30, further suggesting that the company fears T5's substantial teething problems may continue throughout the weekend.

Slawomir Dominik, 29, a Pole working as a customer service agent at T5, said: "I feel very embarrassed. It doesn't give a good impression. It should have worked straight away. If Poles had built this airport there wouldn't have been a problem I think."

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said the “humiliating” events at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 could hamper the case for further expansion at the airport.

Addressing an audience of City leaders Mr Cameron said there were “tough tests” to be met before considering future expansion plans including a third runway and sixth terminal.

He said: “It should go through the planning system in the proper way, but we believe there are some very tough tests - about noise pollution, about carbon dioxide - that has to be met because of the enormous controversy there is over Heathrow. Recent events don’t exactly strengthen the case, if I can put i that way.”

David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The shambles we have seen at Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 comes as little surprise. It is yet another depressing chapter for the UK’s crumbling transport system and sends a depressing message to businesses around the world.

“This is a PR disaster at a time when London and the UK are positioning themselves as global players. We can only hope that this will provide a wake-up call as we gear ourselves up to host the Olympics in 2012.”

The GMB union, which represents many workers at Heathrow, issued a plea that angry passengers should not take out their frustrations on frontline airline staff.

Paul Kenny, the general secretary of the GMB, said: “These staff are doing their very best to cope with what looks like technical difficulties.

“The staff are deeply sympathetic and fully appreciate the consequences of the disruptions and the delays for passengers and will help where they can.

“These staff did not come to work to be abused. It will not help for passengers to abuse them and will add to their demoralisation and lead to further problems.”

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