| BA execs leave after botched T5 start |
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| Tuesday, 15 April 2008 | |
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Two senior executives will leave British Airways after the opening fiasco of Heathrow Terminal 5.
Gareth Kirkwood, director of operations, and David Noyes, director of customer services, are leaving BA, although a spokesperson for the airline refused to say whether they were forced out or had left at their own initiative. BA chief executive Willie Walsh ruled out resigning over the fiasco, which saw the cancellation of dozens of flights, left thousands of passengers stranded and resulted in tens of thousands of pieces of luggage going missing. The problems at the £4.3bn terminal building resulted in travel insurance firms no longer offering cover for lost luggage or delayed flights involving Heathrow T5. BA announced last week that it had delayed transferring its long haul flights to the new terminal, leading to further problems for around 50 other airlines and thousands of transfer passengers. BAA, the private holding company that operates Heathrow Airport, nevertheless announced a £40m rise in its 2007 profits, to £438m. A survey by travel review website TripAdvisor showed this week that most people blamed BAA (38 per cent) rather than BA (13 per cent) for the problems at Terminal 5. The survey contradicted the views of Tessa Jowell, minister for the 2012 Olympics, who said at the weekend that the opening of Terminal 5 had damaged Britain’s international reputation. Related articles
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