T5: BA cancels dozens more flights
'Pakistan Times' Wire Service

LONDON: British Airways on Monday cancelled dozens more flights from its new flagship terminal at London Heathrow amid mounting anger over the disruption and a mountain of stranded luggage.

Five days after Terminal Five opened, ministers criticised anger at the chaos which has engulfed the multi-billion pound facility, while it also emerged that the turmoil had triggered a diplomatic incident.

"It is extremely regrettable to say the least that passengers using T5 have had to suffer an unacceptably poor travel experience," Aviation Minister Jim Fitzpatrick told the House of Commons.

British Airways -- the only airline using the new terminal -- cancelled another 54 flights on Monday after a nightmare weekend, while a spokesman said another 50 flights will be cancelled on Tuesday.

"We continue to work towards increasing the number of services we are operating to and from Terminal 5 in the days ahead," he said.

Terminal Five has been blighted by logistical troubles ever since it opened to much fanfare on Thursday, with problems compounded by a major computer glitch in the luggage handling system.●