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NEW: Taxpayers have been handed a £143,000 bill for protecting BNP leader Nick Griffin during his appearance on Question Time, it has emerged
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Thousands of lost Terminal 5 bags 'will be burnt if owners cannot be traced'
Last updated at 01:22am on 13.04.08Thousands of bags that went missing during the chaotic opening of Terminal 5 will be burned if their owners cannot be traced, it has been claimed.
The luggage belongs to customers of British Airways, which has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Yet an executive in Milan, where the 5,000 bags are being sorted, admitted that incineration was an option.
Giovanni Tinelli, from Onboard Express, which has a £5 million a year contract to sort lost BA bags, said: "All our BA bags that are untraceable are sent back to BA and then they are destroyed in an incinerator."
He said much of the baggage contained dirty laundry and owners would be compensated by BA.
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Piling up: An estimated 28,000 bags went missing on the opening day of Heathrow's Terminal 5
An estimated 28,000 bags went missing when the £4.3billion Terminal 5 building opened on March 27, although BA will not reveal the exact number.
A spokesman for the company said every effort was being made to trace owners. He admitted lost bags may be put up for auction after six months or more.
Minister for London Tessa Jowell today launched a scathing attack on the T5 debacle, laying the blame squarely at the door of BAA, the airport operator.
She said the fiasco had "damaged London", adding: "BAA has to be responsible in a sense for every bit of lost business to London."
Thousands of passengers now face a summer of chaos after British Airways delayed moving long-haul flights Terminal 5.
The move will have a knock-on effect on customers of at least 50 other carriers which were scheduled to move into BA's old Terminal 4 on April 30.
These airlines are now threatening legal action.
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Waiting game: BA passengers dose off to kill time as they wait for news of delayed flights at Heathrow's Terminal 5 earlier this month
Nigel Turner, chief executive of bmi British Midland, who was consulting lawyers, accused BA and Heathrow's Spanish owner BAA of acting "like a monopoly" and treating passengers of other airlines with contempt.
BA boss Willie Walsh insisted the delay in switching 120 long-haul flights was sensible and would be welcomed by customers.
The start date has been pushed back to June 5 at the earliest.
The decision has been made necessary by the failure of the baggage system at T5.
More than 700 flights have been cancelled, affecting 140,000 passengers. Thousands of bags have gone missing.
So far only short-haul domestic, European and a handful of long-haul flights operate from BA's £4.3billion showpiece.
The delay was announced in a joint statement by BA and BAA.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh said the airline will delay its long-haul flight move to Terminal 5 until June
"If there are transfer passengers that this impacts then we will offer a refund and rebooking.' He said it had never entered his mind to resign over the issue.
"I accept responsibility for the issues we encountered at T5, particularly on the first day,' he added.
"We have some issues that have challenged us since then.
"There is little value or merit in trying to apportion blame. It is clear that we got things wrong."
He said about three quarters of the bags lost at T5 had been reunited with their owners.
Mr Turner said the delay was outrageous and had been agreed without consultation.
"We were given 30 minutes' notice this was going to happen," he said. "We are not very happy at all. Once again the UK is a laughing stock.
"This delay will affect more than 50 airlines involved with Heathrow and the whole situation is just quite outrageous.
"The relationship with BAA is very strained. We cannot rule out taking legal action against them.
"The problems have been a combination of BA and BAA who act as if they are one company.
"It feels to us like it is a very monopolistic situation and the rest of the airlines are being treated with contempt."
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Terminal 5 has been hit with delays since it opened in March
Colin Matthews, BAA's new chief executive, said: "We recognise the impact it has on other airlines.
"But we believe it is a wise precaution to ensure that passengers can have the maximum confidence once the move does take place."
Reader views (3)
I flew into terminal 5 on the first day it opened, I am having the worst time, British Airways has an awful lot to answer for. I am considering all of my legal options now as it has been about 17 days without my bag, any supporters?
- Jane Polson, New Zealand
I would like to find out where all the money has gone to build this awful building, Singapore Airport, now that is a building!
- Kath, Liverpool UK
Poor old woolie willie. He rose to the level of his own incompetence.
- Steve, London
