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Tech not to blame for Terminal 5 fiasco
BA boss: Lack of 'staff familiarity' was biggest problem

By Tim Ferguson

Published: Thursday 08 May 2008

The opening day problems at Heathrow's Terminal 5 (T5) were largely down to a lack of staff familiarisation with new facilities and processes, rather than technology issues.

That's according to British Airways CEO, Willie Walsh, who has made it clear building work delays caused the airline to compromise its staff familiarisation programme.

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Walsh was being quizzed by the parliamentary Transport Committee which is looking into the opening day chaos and subsequent problems at the terminal.

He said: "My regret is that we did compromise on the testing programme. Our staff weren't as familiar as they should have been and that impacted on their performance."

Walsh added: "We were aware that aspects of the building were not complete. If I was to do that again, I would not compromise on that testing and familiarisation."

Walsh admitted there were issues with the baggage system software but added this wasn't the main factor which caused the situation to escalate.

In the written evidence submitted to the committee, BA said: "A number of the issues were caused by the incorrect setup of the system for live operation by BAA or its contractors and by unexpected software errors."

Walsh said: "A number of software problems were solved in the first four days. It would be wrong to say it was solely to do with the software."

He added the situation was exacerbated by a number of problems occurring at the same time, including car park access and staff security search delays.

He made it clear there is room for tech improvement, saying greater server capacity is needed to cope with the quantity of data produced by the various systems in the terminal.

But he added: "If I was to pick on one issue which I would address if we did it again, it would be [lack of staff familiarisation]. I think that's a lesson we should have recognised at the time and certainly recognise now."

Walsh also restated that the buck stops with him but stood firm when asked why he remained BA CEO. "I've made it absolutely clear I have no intention of resigning," he said.

Also in the hot seat was BAA CEO, Colin Matthews, who - although not acting as CEO at the time of T5's opening - has had to deal with the fallout since his official start date on 1 April.

Matthews admitted BAA made mistakes: "Some of the problems were undoubtedly down to BAA and some were not. Clearly with hindsight, there were aspects that weren't ready. There are no excuses."

But he was positive about the future for T5. "I believe Terminal 5 is now back on track. I believe that Terminal 5 will be judged a success," he said.