BA postpones long-haul move to T5

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British Airways and Heathrow operator BAA announced that BA's planned move of its long-haul flights from Terminal 4 (T4) to Terminal 5 (T5) was being put back from April 30 to some time in June.

The delay will have an impact on the entire west London airport as it will affect BAA's refurbishment work at T4, the company's work on other Heathrow terminals and the timetable for the move of other airlines into T4.

BAA talked to affected airlines amid concerns that some carriers could seek compensation.

T5 has been beset by problems since its opening on March 27, with hundreds of flights cancelled and thousands of bags still not returned to their owners.

BA and BAA said the BA transfer from T4 was being postponed to iron out problems and ensure passengers got high service standards.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh said both BA and BAA had made mistakes during the opening of T5 and that there were still problems to deal with.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said he regretted the postponement and recognised the impact it had on other airlines.

One of the affected airlines, bmi, reacted with fury to the delay, saying it was "outrageous and inconsiderate", that 50 airlines would be hit and the UK "was once again a laughing stock".

In the original April 30 plan, BA would have moved all its long-haul flights - 60 departures and 60 arrivals a day - to T5, leaving just its services to Bangkok, Singapore and Sydney in T4.