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StumbleUponHeathrow’s T5 Chaos - Check Your Travel Insurance for Compensation
What a disappointing and embarrassing disaster the opening of the new ‘Gateway to Britain’ has been! The failure of the ‘state-of-the art’ baggage system will be remembered worldwide – be it due to technical or human error. Flights have been cancelled by the dozens on a daily basis since the opening, although British Airways is hoping to be back on schedule by today.
The luggage mountain of about 19,000 bags has been piling up at T5 and a chunk of it has been sent to Milan to be sorted. BA says this will speed up the process and bags can be shipped to destinations throughout Europe faster. The bags will be reunited with their owners eventually, but it could take a while as delayed bags require more extensive security screening - which has to be done by hand. Sadly, the luggage may arrive too late to be of use to many passengers who may be on the return leg of their trip by the time their bags are identified! Packing for a trip is a chore most people dread, so having to go out and replace all those items will have been doubly annoying! Maybe BA and BAA will find it in their hearts to offer some token of compensation to all their inconvenienced customers.
Let’s hope everyone affected had travel insurance in place! Levels of cover for lost and delayed baggage and cancelled or delayed flights will depend on the type of policy purchased. Be warned that policies do not normally cover valuables packed in checked luggage. If you have a Travel Insurance Agencies Ltd policy, check the policy document under Personal Effects and Baggage regarding your luggage, and under Travel Delay and Holiday Abandonment for your cancelled or delayed flights.
This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 5:22 am and is filed under Airlines .You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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April 5th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I am sad to say that my Uncle was one of the main designers for the new terminal at Heathrow, I guess Im just happy the mishap wasnt anything to do with him. On my last flight into England my snowboard was sent on a later flight so I know how annoying it is to arrive without all of your bags.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Glad you got your snowboard okay. Your Uncle must have been cringing as he watched the T5 luggage mess unfolding. That’s a shame, especially after all the hype about it being state-of-the-art. Does he think the problem was mainly human-error, i.e. personnel had not been trained properly in how to operate it? Maybe it is just too clever for mere mortals?