Posted on 03/29/2008 1:17:01 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
DOZENS of workers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 started to BRAWL just hours after it opened, it emerged last night.
More than 30 baggage-handlers at the £4.3billion hub had to be pulled apart by security guards on Thursday.
And the farce at the “world class” terminal continued yesterday as 72 more flights were scrapped, the ROOF started to LEAK and passengers JEERED staff.
As rain dripped on their heads from a hole in the expensive panelled roof, tourists chanted: “You’re s*** and you know you are” at red-faced BA staff.
Passenger Sandra Weber, 27, of Feldberg, Austria, raged: “It’s like being in a billion pound bus-shelter. BA might as well give up.”
SNIP- BA chief executive Willie Walsh yesterday admitted Thursday’s fiasco was “not British Airways’ finest hour”. He said the “buck stops with me” but he refused calls to resign.
He added: “We disappointed many people and I apologise sincerely.”
Mr Walsh denied claims by senior sources that T5 had opened too soon. Hundreds of passengers were still furious last night. Dental nurse Jen Esposti, 36, of Slough, Berks, flew back from Rome but her suitcase stayed in Italy. She said: “If I’d known going on holiday would be this bad I’d have stayed at home.”
Paul Trowbridge, a managing director from Yateley, Hants, added: “I am embarrassed as hell as a British citizen.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...
Rule #1: Never talk about flight club.
Glad we weren’t there. What a mess!
The baggage handles were brawling and calling each other w*****s!
What the hell is a w*****S?
wankers
If you MUST come into the U.K. near London - insist on Gatwick or if your flying between European cities try for Stansted....
Since I usually needed to get into Scotland - I used Glasgow or Edinburgh, both were efficient, well positioned cities - with excellent air or rail connection to points throughout the U.K. - and less expensive.
In many cases - overall travel costs can be cheaper if you plan to spend any time in Scotland -- which EVERYONE should -- is to start and end your U.K. travels in Scotland.. Start in Glasgow, tour the U.K. to your heart's delight and exit from Edinburgh..
Key -- AVOID Heathrow...and British Air if at all possible. Times have changed, the BA of today is NOT the BA of the several decades ago....
Of course! Thanks.
Our TSA folks wading into the crowd - swinging truncheons?
I do amuse myself during the wee hours of the morning.
If one has to fly into Heathrow, and change planes...especially in the summer months...you might as well give up. The odds of being delayed more than six hours or even canceled....beat any airport in the world. I would strongly encourage folks that must travel to Europe...to consider landing at Frankfurt or Paris instead. If you have to fly into the UK...Gatwick is a preferred spot and if you want to do the small commuter flights out of Stanstead....it is a terrific airport.
There are people around the UK currently discussing their summer vacation plans and they are demanding flights from smaller airports to avoid Heathrow entirely. The travel agents and airlines are really in a crunch to make these people happy. I’m predicting a unusually large number of people who usually traveled outside of the country...to either use rail or not go outside of the UK this summer. Even the ferry business appears to be booming in the vacation business.
Same thing with JFK. Avoid it like the plague. I always try for Newark.
JFK is just like Heathrow.
“DOZENS of workers at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 started to BRAWL just hours after it opened, it emerged last night.”
I just flew home yesterday from India with one technical stop in London at Heathrow where we had to deplane for a security check, good thing it was terminal 3, LOL.
You’re so right! I’m dreading our trip in a couple of months because to get a direct flight on American we must fly into Heathrow. We’ve flown into Gatwick three times (on American) and never was there a problem. Security checkpoint personnel were actually very pleasant and swift.
The BA of several decades ago was BOAC, a heavily subsidized flag airline. Very nice but a tax albatross.
They are not that ambitious, most likely they would go on strike.
And I avoid BA whenever possible.
This incident reminds of my country Malaysia’s KLIA during their first opening day. And by heaven it’s a mayhem, what a pain to remember that.
Heathrow is a nightmarish place. Avoid it at all costs.
Heathrow is miles beyond JFK in overall badness.
Miles.
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