Travel chaos is expected to continue at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 with 36 of today’s departures already cancelled.
British Airways, which has exclusive use of the terminal, said it plans to operate 80% of today’s flights from the terminal, just one day after the £4.3 billion facility opened.
It follows a disastrous first day which saw 33 flights cancelled and arriving passengers waiting for up to four hours at baggage reclaim. At around 5pm the airline closed all check-in facilities, only allowing passengers with hand baggage to board their flights.
A BA spokeswoman said staff had been working around the clock to resolve the issues while volunteers across the airline have also been brought in to Terminal 5.
She added: “We continue to closely monitor the situation and again apologise to customers for any disruption caused.
“The problems yesterday were caused by a combination of factors that included delays at the staff car park and at security and log in problems for baggage handlers reporting for duty.
“These caused operational problems throughout the day associated with processing customers’ baggage. Working alongside BAA we have addressed these issues.”
She added customers should check on ba.com for up to date flight information or telephone the airline on 0800 727800 for more information. Travellers can also find up-to-date information on the airline’s website.