The month...

An incredibly complicated structure, the largest freestanding building in Europe, a landmark in off-site construction, completed on time and on budget… When it opened last month BAA’s £4.3bn Heathrow Terminal 5 was a major public building the country could be truly proud of, a reversal of the so-called ‘Wembley effect’ that had blighted the sector for so long. Then the passengers arrived…

‘T5 chaos’, ‘1 in 5 flights cancelled’, ‘Terminal illness’ read just some of the national headlines the day after the doors opened. Hold-luggage services were suspended after a baggage backlog, 59 flights were cancelled and people waited up to four hours to reclaim their luggage. On the day CM went to press, 75 flights had already been cancelled with more forecast for the weekend. Passengers complained about confusing road signs, problems paying in the car park and a broken down escalator, disruptions British Airways (BA), the terminal’s sole operator, blamed on problems with ‘staff familiarisation’.

What should have been BA’s finest hour had ‘turned into a shambles the moment the doors opened’ one baggage handler told the BBC, forcing BA’s chief executive Willie Walsh to admit responsibility: ‘We clearly got things wrong…

I am very sorry that the problems have meant that some of our customers did not experience the true potential of this amazing new building.’

Hey, it might be another flop, but at least construction’s not taking the flak this time.