Passengers forced to fly without bags following T5 power failure
Thousands of holidaymakers arrived in their destination without their bags yesterday following a power failure at Heathrow T5, which disabled the electronic baggage systems.
British Airways, the only carrier operating from the terminal, said the power outage for several hours early in the morning meant that the baggage system wasn’t working at full capacity ‘which affected our ability to process baggage in the normal way’.
As a result, 3,000 to 4,000 bags are believed to have been left behind, although this has not been confirmed by BA or Heathrow.
BA is understood to be offering to courier bags to their owners. A spokeswoman said this morning: "The issue has been resolved, and we are continuing to work to reunite customers with their bags."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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