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Heathrow Mess Will Ripple Well Into Weekend

Posted Mar 28, 08 3:33 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Logistical disasters continued today at Heathrow airport's new Terminal 5—and flight cancellations, delays and luggage losses will likely continue all weekend, the Times of London reports. British Airways, the facility's sole airline, said it hoped to run 80% of planned flights today, the terminal's second. "I am a frequent traveler," one passenger said, "and this is the worst experience ever."

Some passengers slept in the terminal as they waited for lost baggage; workers complained they’d had only a day of training for the opening—" definitely not British Airways’ finest hour," the carrier's CEO said in an apology. A government official hoped the “PR disaster” would be a “wake-up call” ahead of London’s 2012 Olympics.

Source Times (UK)

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Youngsters take some rest as they wait in the departures area at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport in London, Friday March 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Travelers are seen reflected in a window as they walk in the departure lounge of the new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow Airport in west London, Thursday, March 27, 2008.   (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
Two men take some rest as they wait in the departures area at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport in London, Friday March 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
A flight arrivals information screen is seen at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport in London, Friday March 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
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Great Britain  • London  • airport  • airline delays  • Heathrow Airport  • luggage  • British Airways  • flight cancellation  • Terminal 5


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