BA Chief Faces Grilling Over T5 Fiasco

By Sky News SkyNews - Wednesday, May 7 01:52 pm

British Airways' boss Willie Walsh will face a tough grilling from MPs today over the Heathrow Terminal 5 fiasco.

The chiefs of Heathrow operator BAA will also be giving evidence at a specially-arranged sitting of the House of Commons Transport Committee at Westminster.

Before the appearance of Mr Walsh - the BA chief executive - the committee will be questioning BAA chairman Sir Nigel Rudd and BAA chief executive Colin Matthews.

The £4.3bn building opened disastrously on March 27, with dozens of flights cancelled, the baggage system breaking down and huge queues.

It was several days before BA was able to run a full service from T5, which had been officially opened by the Queen on March 14.

The shambolic opening led to BA postponing the transfer of nearly all its long-haul services to T5 from April 30 to to June.

Two top BA execs - operations director Gareth Kirkwood and the customer services director David Noyes - have lost their jobs over the T5 debacle.

MPs are likely to ask Mr Walsh about their departure, especially after he said he took full responsibility for the T5 shambles.

The committee will also want to know why BA and BAA opened the new facility when they did, given the misgivings about its readiness expressed by staff.

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