Senior British Airways Executives Leave After Terminal 5 Chaos
Xinhua | Apr. 15, 2008
Two senior British Airways (BA) executives are leaving the company following the chaos at Terminal 5 of Heathrow airport, Sky News reported on April 15.
The two are Operations Director Gareth Kirkwood and Customer Services Director David Noyes.
Their departure follow the chaotic opening of the new 4.3-billion-pound (US$8.6 billion) terminal at Heathrow airport in March, with hundreds of flights being canceled and thousands of luggage items lost due to problems with a new high-tech baggage handling system.
The disaster following the opening have cost BA 16 million pounds (some US$32 million) not to mention the damage done to its reputation.
The airline said it was looking for a Chief Operations Officer who will combine the roles of the two executives.
The BA has just started running a full service from T5, which was officially opened on March 14. It has postponed moving most of its long-haul flights to the terminal from April 30 to June.
BA chief Willie Walsh had accepted responsibility for the T5 fiasco, but rejected suggestions he should have postponed the opening given some of the concerns raised by members of staff.
"We are confident that this building is operationally ready," he said.