WHEN it became clear I would be among the first passengers to arrive at Heathrow's £4.3 billion new Terminal 5, I uneasily laughed off a joke from a colleague: "I bet they lose your bags."
He won the bet.
It was already going to be a very difficult day. I was flying to London to attend a funeral. I had booked an early flight with British Airways to give myself plenty of time to get there.
When I landed in London, already half
an hour late, there was no sign of my or anyone else's bags. Passengers on the first inbound flight, from Hong Kong, received their luggage in less than 15 minutes – along with a personal handshake from Willie Walsh, BA's chairman. But the baggage system soon appeared to collapse completely.
Dozens of agitated customers were standing next to empty conveyor belts, while on the information screens every arrival was "awaiting bags".
It soon became clear that some passengers had been waiting more than two hours for their bags. Dozens of irate passengers became hundreds as more planes landed. Staff hurried by – either on the phone or on radios, but no-one stopped to provide any information.
As my onward bus to Woking came and went, there was still no bag or announcement. We were told the Tannoy system had broken down.
I joined a queue at a customer service desk, where just two people were attempting to deal with hundreds of frustrated customers. It took several minutes to log each person's details and none of the staff seemed to know what the problem was or whether our bags had reached Heathrow.
By that time, a queue of more than 100 people snaked back from the cancelled flights desk as passengers tried to get on to other flights or receive refunds.
Snaking queues were meant to be a thing of the past for BA passengers at Heathrow, yet they were the most noticeable feature at Terminal 5 yesterday – all within sight of giant signs proclaiming: "Welcome to our new home."
Passengers on a BA flight from Los Angeles that landed at 9:30am only emerged from the arrivals hall four hours later, while others waited longer for their bags than they had spent in the air.
Hertz Merkel, a German businessman flying to Düsseldorf, said: "This is real British organisation for you. I've only got hand baggage but I still have to stand in the same queue. It doesn't look like I'll be getting home today."
Eventually, a woman arrived and started handing out forms. She couldn't offer any answers as to what had gone wrong, where our luggage was or how long it would take to sort out.
My tearful pleas for help were met with exasperation and shrugged shoulders.
In the end, I had to abandon my bag. In its place, I accepted a "mishandled baggage" form with a reference number scribbled in Biro. I didn't even get an apology.
I made it to the funeral service in time – after sprinting to catch a later bus.
A call to the "centralised baggage tracing centre" later was less than reassuring. It seems my bag made it to Terminal 5, but where it is now is anyone's guess. "If" it turns up, I was told, British Airways will "call me".
I have the misfortune of returning to Edinburgh with BA tomorrow – still in the suit I wore to the funeral, no doubt.
It will be the last time I fly with BA.
COUNTDOWN TO CHAOS4:42am: The first flight from Hong Kong arrives eight minutes early, to be welcomed by British Airways' chief executive Willie Walsh.
He said: "This is a historic day for BA and for UK aviation. Everyone involved in the project should be extremely proud of their achievements in creating this fantastic facility."
6:20am: The first departing flight to Paris leaves on time. However, arriving passengers encounter major problems with baggage reclaim, with some having to wait more than two hours for their bags.
Noon: The knock-on effects of the baggage problems force BA to cancel 20 flights.
1:30pm: Passengers arriving from Los Angeles collect their luggage four hours after arriving.
2pm: Flight cancellations increase to 34.
5pm: BA suspends all baggage check-in, forcing passengers to travel with hand luggage only.
The full article contains 732 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
