Sorting the unsortable - Heathrow
A few days ago,
I had written about problems at London's Heathrow airport stranding passengers and loosing 15,000 to 20,000 bags.
It seems they have worked out a solution for the misplaced bags.
From the
UK Daily Mail
BA bags are flown to America by FedEx for sorting after Terminal 5 chaos
British Airways is flying lost luggage from Heathrow's Terminal 5 to the U.S. for sorting.
It had already emerged that the airline is trucking bags to a warehouse in Italy to reduce the backlog after thousands of cases were not put on their owners' flights.
And on Tuesday, the first transatlantic flight took place, with the aim of reuniting passengers who gave their last known address in the U.S, with their bags. More flights, with the courier FedEx, may follow.
BA said problems with the baggage system at the � 4.3billion terminal, which opened on Thursday, had meant that it could not process delayed bags quickly.
Passengers have also complained that lifts and phones at the new terminal building do not work, signs are poor and there are not enough seats.
BA said: "We will be using FedEx for some baggage. One flight went yesterday. There may be more if we feel it is necessary.
"It is quicker for bags with European mainland addresses to go to Milan for sorting and onward transport than waiting for space to appear on flights leaving Heathrow."
The company which is sorting cases in Milan said that the luggage should be back with customers "within five days".
Every. Single. Time. That I have flown through Heathrow, it's been a horrible experience. When my first wife and I were planning our honeymoon, I tried all sorts of ways to get out of landing in Heathrow. She thought it strange but after we got to our flight to Ireland, she completely understood my concern. The place should be razed and the ground salted and they should start over again from scratch.
Posted by DaveH at April 2, 2008 7:46 PM