Jaunted

T5 at LHR

Chaotic Start at Heathrow's Terminal 5

March 28, 2008 at 1:30 PM | 0 Comments

British Airways' exclusive Terminal 5 at Heathrow is going through some predictable growing pains after receiving its first flights yesterday. We're not sure anyone expected a completely smooth ride--if they did, bless their overly optimistic hearts--but the extent of the kinks and bad publicity is probably a bit worse than anticipated.

According to Reuters, "nearly 70" flights were canceled yesterday, and "a fifth of flights" today, resulting in "chaos" after a "shambolic" opening. (Short-haul flights are most at risk of disruption.) Yep, that sounds about right. How about three months for T5 to really get into some kind of comfortable groove?

If you're holding off on making your way through T5 until things settle down, consider flipping through a photo tour from Flickr user terminal5insider's albums. It'll whet your appetite while the poor souls stuck in London today play guinea pig.

Related Stories:
· Heathrow Terminal 5: Not quite a high five [Telegraph UK]
· What did go wrong at Terminal 5? [BBC]
· Q&A: travel advice for Heathrow Terminal 5 passengers [Times UK]
· LHR Terminal 5: FAQ, information and updates [FlyerTalk]

[Photo: terminal5insider]