British Airways has reassured the GCC travel trade Terminal 5 at London Heathrow is now running smoothly as the carrier prepares to switch all remaining long-haul flights from Terminal 4 to the new facility.
This includes the Dubai services, which will fly into T5 from October 22, while flights from Abu Dhabi switched last week on September 17.
BA commercial manager Middle East Paul Starrs conceded that BA had “teething problems” when it opening T5 back in March – delays and in getting staff through security screening had resulted in a backlog of baggage, which meant severe delays and flight cancellations over the days that followed – but said the situation had “long been resolved”.
“The T5 move at Heathrow was a disaster,” said Starrs. “But that’s in the past now.
“The reality now is not what’s been reported. I think what happened in the beginning has made us a bit of an easy target, but we accept that.”
He added: “We have to re-build the public’s confidence in us where T5 is concerned. We admit that is was our initial mistake so it’s something we’re happy to do.”
Starrs was adamant that the terminal was now working smoothly.
“We’re confident of the work that we’ve put in now,” he said. “The service is great, just try it, it’s fantastic.”
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