British Airways has reportedly slapped Heathrow with a compensation bill after a failure of the airport’s baggage system on Friday meant some customers are still waiting for their luggage.
Thousands waited hours for their bags to arrive at Terminal 5 on Friday, while some went home without them.
An estimated 20,000 on connecting flights from the London hub were forced to continue their journeys without their luggage, according to The Times.
British Airways, which has been sending the bags on by courier or by plane, said it might be Thursday before every customer is reunited with their bags.
BA Chairman and Chief Executive Sean Doyle has written to Heathrow Group Chief Executive to seek reassurances about contingency plans, as this is the fifth Heathrow baggage failure this year, The Times reported.
A similar incident during February half-term affected 7,000 customers, while a technical fault at Easter affected 4,000. Reports suggest the incidents have cost the airline as much as £10 million.
While BA has made no official statement, The Times quoted a BA source saying: “We can’t keep absorbing the consequences of repeated Heathrow system failures. This is the most recent of a handful of incidents already this year that highlight a clear need for more resilient infrastructure and stronger contingency planning at the airport.
“Our customers rightly expect and pay for a reliable journey through Heathrow; they are the ones who suffer when these appalling failures happen. As decisions are made about the airport’s future, it’s essential that reliability and resilience come first.”
Travel Gossip has contacted Heathrow for a comment.
