British Airways is seeking more than 650 recruits to ease its transfer to Heathrow Terminal 5 next spring.
BA is set to recruit 340 new baggage-handling and ramp staff and 320 additional check-in staff, confounding fears that the airline would cut back on customer service at the high-tech terminal.
BA aims to have 80% of passengers checking in online or at self-service kiosks by the time Terminal 5 opens late next March. It claimed 58% of passengers used self-service facilities or online check-in last week.
A BA spokesman said: “There will be increased staff at Terminal 5. We will have far more customer service staff landside, with staff available to answer queries.
“The way we manage the gate boarding process will also be different, with fewer passenger and seating changes made at the gate.”
The check-in recruits are joining on permanent contracts, with the additional ground-handlers on contracts of up to a year.
Until next March they will cover for existing BA staff on training courses preparing for the terminal move – of which there are up to 450 on any week day.
BA is due to move almost its entire short-haul operations to Terminal 5 on March 27.
Services to Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Lisbon and Helsinki will remain at Terminal 1 until June 2008 when they will move to Terminal 3.
Many BA long-haul services will also move at the end of March, with all bar the operations shared with Australian carrier Qantas completing the move on April 30.
Services to and from Australia will remain at Terminal 4 until October 2008, when they will also move to Terminal 3.
BA will have Terminal 5 to itself, taking the building over from BAA and the builders on September 17. However, it is unlikely to move in the remaining services until completion of a satellite terminal in 2010.
Its move in March will trigger a domino effect across Heathrow, with up to 50 airlines transferring operations between terminals to allow airport operator BAA to clear the ageing Terminal 2 for demolition.