Heathrow Airport's new terminal begins operation amid delays

London: An early morning arrival of a Hong Kong flight launched Heathrow Airport's brand new Terminal 5 on Thursday amid reports of baggage delays.

The 4.3 billion pound terminal is able to handle 30 million passengers per year and will deal exclusively with British Airways flights.

This move is expected to free up gates for American airlines including Continental, Delta, Northwest Airlines and US Airways, which are due to begin operation from March 30.

American Airlines will also shift from London Gatwick to Heathrow.

The terminal is expected to reduce Heathrow's notorious delays and features a state-of-the-art baggage handling system, and a check-in and security system designed to speed transit through the airport.

Yet, Thursday's opening was marred by delays caused by baggage mishandling with may passengers stranded while waiting for their baggage to arrive.

Reports of delayed baggage loading and unloading emerged and British Airways blamed staffing issues for the problems.
Passengers expressed mixed reviews about the new premises.

Some claimed it was much smoother and quicker but others were not thrilled with the new facility. One passenger on the second flight into Terminal 5 said it took around an hour for bags to come through.

Heathrow gained unpopularity among travelers partly because it handles more passengers that its intended capacity allows, and Terminal 5 is an attempt to reverse the airport's bad reputation.

A series of improvements to other terminals have been planned as well, with airline operator BAA assigning 6.2 billion pounds for the renovation.

A coalition of environmental protesters opposed to the further expansion of the sprawling airport plans a silent demonstration inside the terminal building to draw attention to its impact on climate change and noise pollution.

Stop Heathrow Expansion's spokesman said the group will not disrupt the terminal operations or hold a demonstration, but hundreds of protesters planned to don red T-shirts that say "Stop airport expansion" and stand motionless inside the terminal.

Heathrow was expected to begin fingerprinting passengers with the opening of Terminal 5 but those plans were "temporarily delayed" Wednesday after complaints from an independent watchdog agency.

The Information Commissioner's Office had warned that the fingerprinting would infringe on the privacy rights of passengers. Instead, photo identification will be used as part of the security proces.