The British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) has published an
open letter describing its "acute embarrassment" over the opening
of Heathrow's Terminal 5 and slamming British Airways'
"arrogance".
The union, which represents British Airways pilots, said a
change was needed in the way the company was managed.
The
letter
said, "Failings on the opening days of T5 are symptomatic of BA's
loss of focus in delivering a sound operation. This airline can and
should make Britain proud but a fundamental change of attitude is
required from the very highest levels of BA management.
"It is with great sorrow and acute embarrassment that BA pilots
have witnessed the unhappy, distressing shambles that the opening
of T5 has become.
"Banks, institutional investors and analysts need to wake up to
the fact that there is something very wrong right at the heart of
this company that is making our once great brand a laughing
stock."
British Airways said in response that chief executive Willy
Walsh would not resign, and was "determined to resolve the problems
associated with the initial move to Terminal 5."
The letter referred to technical problems that
hit the terminal shortly after opening on March 27. Issues with
the
baggage system and staff familiarisation programmes meant
cancelled flights and piles of bags separated from their
owners.
British Airways faced more problems over the weekend after icy
weather meant more flights had to be cancelled on Monday. There was
also another problem with the BAA baggage system leading to
cancellations on Saturday and Sunday.
Heathrow Terminal Five - latest from ComputerWeekly