More Flight Cancellations At Heathrow Airport Terminal 5

Disruptions at Heathrow Terminal 5 continue today, as BA cancels a further 54 flights. A reported 400 volunteers are helping BA staff work their way through the backlog of 15,000 pieces of luggage accumulated during the last five days.

Over 250 flights have been cancelled since the terminal opened on March 27th, although the situation does seem to be slowly improving, with BA planning to run 87% of its flights tomorrow.

The estimated cost to BA of the terminal 5 debacle has been cited by some analysts as being around 20 million pounds.

BA still plans to start operating long-haul flights from terminal 5 next month, provided that they are satisfied that all the issues have been resolved.

Heathrow Terminal 5 Chaos Continues

Chaos continues at Heathrow's new flagship terminal building today, as 20% of flights are cancelled and passengers experience delays and long queues.

Yesterday saw the opening of the new terminal, after months of preparation and training by the British Airways Staff. Some teething problems were to be expected, but the scale of the disruption has left many passengers angry, and senior BA staff facing mounting criticism over the way the opening has been handled.

Yesterday saw hold luggage services suspended as a result of the baggage backlog, with passengers having to wait up to four hours to reclaim their luggage. 34 flights were also cancelled.

BA have been forced to openly apologise to passengers, and have warned passengers travelling over the weekend to expect further delays and disruption.

For the latest information regarding BA flights, you can call the offical BA information line on 0800 727800, or visit the BA website.

Flights to US from UK likely to become cheaper!

On March 30th, air travel between the US and Europe undergoes a significant change, as the open-skies agreement comes into effect. Airlines based in the US and Europe will be allowed to fly between any two airports in the regions, opening up the market for more choice, and most likely cheaper fares, for travellers.

Currently, transatlantic flights are governed by separate agreements between the US and the individual EU country, with restrictions applied in various degrees. For example, there are currently only two US airlines allowed to land at Heathrow airport, namely American and United Airlines. Once the new agreement comes into effect, airlines such as Continental, Delta and Northwest will be allowed to land at Heathrow for the first time. As a result of this change, flights from the United States to Heathrow are expected to increase by 31 percent, according to OAG Back Aviation Solutions.

As well as providing increased competition on established routes, new routes are planned, bringing direct flights from the UK to many more US destinations such as Dallas Fort Worth and Atlanta.

Micheal O' Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, has already announced plans to start transatlantic no-frills routes from secondary airports such as Birmingham airport and Liverpool airport, promising base fares from as little as 10 euros.

Flights to Poland contribute to UK airport traffic growth

Flights to Poland accounted for 20% of the growth in traffic at UK airports last year, according to figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The total number of passengers passing through UK airports in 2007 was 241 million, up 2.4% on the previous year. This equates to an extra 5.6 million passengers, of which 1 million came from Poland.

Transatlantic flights experienced an increase of 0.7 million passengers, rising from 21.7 to 22.4 million, reflecting the weakened position of the dollar.

Heathrow Airport handled the largest number of passengers, with 68 million passengers passing through the gates, or 28% of the total. Gatwick Airport handled 14.6%, Stansted Airport 10%, Manchester Airport 9%, and Luton Airport 4%.

Security alert just before Queen opens new terminal 5 at Heathrow

The Queen is due to open new state of the art terminal at London's Heathrow airport later today (Friday 14th March) despite security breaches by protestors who are opposed to its expansion. Yesterday police arrested a man who ran out on to the runway and blew up his bag as a precaution but did not find a bomb. Green protesters are worried that the new terminals are the first stage in a vast new expansion that will see a third runway, sixth terminal and twice as many passengers.

Terminal five is the new home of British Airways and comes complete with gourmet restaurants run by the likes of Gordon Ramsay, luxury shops like Gucci and Prada and high-tech baggage systems which minimise the chances of your luggage being lost.

Heathrow has had one of the worst rates of airport delays in the world, and there are also plans to replace terminals 1 and 2 which means that 70% of passengers will be using new terminals within four years.

Flight cancellations and delays at UK airports

Flights to and from UK airports, including Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Aberdeen and Glasgow International, continue to experience cancellations and delays due to the severe weather conditions.

Passengers travelling to and from all UK airports are advised to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport. Live UK flight departure and arrival information can be found on the UK Airport Guide, by visiting the information pages relating to the individual airport in question.