Heathrow Baggage Failure Forces Thousands to Fly Without Luggage
- Breakdown affected two terminals during morning departure peak
- British Airways worst hit, weeks after power-outage debacle
A passenger aircraft, operated by British Airways, a unit of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG), passes other British Airways passenger aircraft on the tarmac at London Heathrow Airport, in London, U.K., on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. British Airways' epic meltdown over a busy holiday weekend further fanned public outrage of an industry infamous for its focus on cost cuts over customer service, leaving the U.K. carrier scrambling to explain how a local computer outage could lead to thousands of stranded passengers.
Photographer: Luke MacGregor/BloombergThousands of passengers departing London’s Heathrow airport were forced to fly without larger items of luggage on Thursday morning after the baggage-handling system serving two of its terminals broke down.
British Airways flights were worst hit, with the failure afflicting the carrier’s Terminal 5 base, as well as Terminal 3, used mainly by BA, American Airlines and their allies in the Oneworld group, as well as Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and Dubai-based Emirates.