BA unveils its new £60m lounge... as it tells thousands of passengers they can't take their luggage on holiday

Passengers forced to abandon bags at Heathrow by a computer failure were told by British Airways to send them on by courier.

The failure of the main baggage handling computer and its emergency back-up meant 4,000 longhaul travellers flying from Terminal 4 could not check bags into the hold and could take only two items of hand luggage.

Those flying economy - though not business and first-class passengers - were left with the stark choice of leaving their belongings in left luggage or trying frantically to pack them into smaller bags on the airport floor.

As the misery continued, BA chose the moment to unveil its opulent new airport lounges at Heathrow's Terminal 5. Costing £60million, they include a cinema, champagne bar, spa and Swarovski crystal chandeliers. The lounges, covering a total of 15,000 sq ft, will open with the rest of the £4.3billion terminal on 27 March.

Not everyone will get to enjoy their comfort or the specially-commisioned artwork and furniture from Italy - they are for passengers travelling first-class or club-class, or in the Executive Club run by British Airways.

Gary Ranns, lounges manager at British Airways, promised: "Terminal 5 will be a fantastic experience. It will make travelling a pleasure again and not a chore."

The baggage handling computer, run by airport operator BAA, first failed around Tuesday lunchtime and was still not fully operational by 4pm yesterday. BAA is expected to be hit with a bill to compensate passengers that could run into millions.

Other airlines at Terminal 4 were also affected but as BA is the largest operator there it was worst hit by the failure.

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Andrew Bray, 60, a writer for Yachting World magazine, said yesterday: "I only learnt of this problem when I arrived. It's absolutely disgraceful. They told us we should send our bags by FedEx or DHL.

"It's ridiculous they have not fixed this problem yet."

Mr Bray, who was travelling to Breckenridge, Colorado, to ski, said he would have to rent or buy equipment.

Steve Angolini, 49, also flying with BA to Colorado, had to abandon his new £1,000 skis.

The kitchen fitter, from London, wore two ski jackets, two pairs of goggles and ski-boots just to get his gear on board.

Mr Angolini, who was travelling with ten companions, estimates it will cost his party around £1,800 to rent skis for their week-long stay.

He said: "I only use my skis once a year and now I've got to leave them behind. I'm disgusted with BA for not letting us know."

British Airways apologised yesterday for the fault and said affected passengers can either be rebooked on another flight or get a refund.

Some passengers were able to get on board alternative flights with other airlines - which BA promised to pay for.

By late yesterday morning, BAA said the Terminal 4 baggage system was back to normal but added that it might take time to clear any luggage backlog.