The new Terminal 5 opened its doors to operations on the 27th, last Thursday. But what was supposed to be normal, was anything but. Let’s face it: one should expect some hickups during the first few days, especially when it comes to technical problems. Take Chek Lap Kok (the Hong Kong International Airport which in 1998 replaced Kai Tak) for example: the freight terminal had to be closed because its state-of-the-art cargo handling system simply collapsed.
Technical failures are, in many situations, not avoidable or even foreseeable. But lack of planning and personel training certainly are preventable. And these seem to be some of the factors that led to T5’s awful start. Ground personel is reported to not even being comfortable with dealing with the baggage handling systems…
I understand that airlines and airport authorities are under a lot of pressure these days. The new T5 was conceived not only to alleviate the congestion but also to change Heathrow’s and British Airways’ reputation among millions of passengers, to offer them a pleasant experience. But even the urgent need to do this should not serve as an excuse for rushing things.
Expect the present ‘chaos’ to reflect itself on the next few days…
About the new British Airways Terminal 5:
http://www.terminal5.ba.com/en/
More on T5’s current status can be found on:
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/fc/airlines.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/28/heathrow.t5/
