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Terminal 5 retailers 'mothball' shops and demand compensation
Katie Whelan6 May 2008
Retailers are demanding millions of pounds in compensation because of chaos at Heathrow's Terminal 5.
Sales are so poor for the 70 shops and food outlets at the terminal that some have temporarily closed their stores.
One shop owner said: "Nobody in Terminal 5 is achieving the numbers they hoped. Everyone is in the same boat - everyone is frustrated."
Before the £4.3 billion terminal opened on 27 March, air bosses had promised a "natural, logical journey that's so calm, you'll f low through".
Instead, flight delays and lost luggage overshadowed the opening. Dozens of flights were cancelled and hundreds of furious passengers were forced to sleep on the airport floor. The chaos prompted London Minister Tessa Jowell to launch a scathing attack on BAA for "damaging London". She said the airports operator was responsible for losing the capital business.
British Airways postponed transferring its long-haul flights to T5 because of the problems - a move which has caused passenger numbers to drop to 40,000 per day from the expected 70,000.
Negotiations are under way between BAA and the affected businesses over a possible multi-millionpound compensation package.
It is feared that until then more and more chains will temporarily close fully-stocked shops to save on costs.
HMV is among the retail chains to have "mothballed" its Terminal 5 store.
Shops in the terminal include high Marks & Spencer, Dixons, and Tiffany and Harrods.
One retailer said compensation talks were due to be completed within two weeks.
A spokesman for BAA said: "BAA regrets the postponement of the longhaul flight move to Terminal 5, but we believe it is a wise precaution to ensure passengers can have confidence once the move takes place.
"We are in, and continue to have, constant dialogue with our retail clients."
