Air Transport

British Airways (BA) has cancelled 54 individual flight sectors today and it expects further flight cancellations in the coming days as it continues effort to overcome its backlog of undelivered bags following the start of operations at the new Terminal 5 at London Heathrow.

Difficulties with the baggage-handling system, compounded by other problems on its first morning of operations, have forced the carrier to cancel a host of flights since the terminal opened on 27 March.

While the carrier says the baggage system is now “generally working well” and has enlisted 400 volunteers to tackle the bag backlog, cancellations are continuing.

“We are operating 87% of the [T5] schedule today,” says a BA spokeswoman, noting 54 flight sectors have been cancelled. She says further cancellations are likely in the coming days.

Virtual tour of T5