I travelled from Brussels to Heathrow, we were supposed to fly at 8pm, we didn't board until 10pm, we then had to wait for a gate to be assigned, wait a further 20mins for ground staff to physically turn on the outside lights so the plane didn't crash into the terminal, then another 40mins for someone to control the attachment to the jetty to the plane. We then arrived into the baggage section where there were thousands of bags on the floor, thousands of people gathered round Customer Service.

T5 was in absolute chaos, people going crazy in there, trying to get some answers, everyone being told different things. We were told to go to carousel 11, waited 2 hrs with the same bags going round, and noone collecting any of the bags. We were then being given yellow forms to fill in by BAA and BA, the feedback was that if we filled them in, BA would deliver the bags to your address. BA staff on the floor said this could take 3 days. There are literally thousands of bags on the floor, thousands of people at Customer Service (only 2 desks/people would you believe) and people crowded round waiting at the carousels for bags to come off but the same bags keep going round. The Managing Director of BA came down to get feedback from everyone, (which wasn't very helpful, as he didn't actually do anything. A Manager worthy of being in this high profile role would have gathered everyone round and addressed the entire base of customers to explain the honest situation.) BAA staff said it was BA's issue and they couldn't help and BA staff said there was no tannoy system to make an announcement! How ridiculous – because at 3am there was an announcement to advise passengers should go hone. We heard from BA staff that BA crew have gone home and they have 30 flights worth of bags with everyone waiting for their luggage. A woman collapsed on the floor near me so I had to get the Medics over, there are people crying, sleeping in the middle of the floor.

I am shocked and embarrassed to be part of a Country running what is supposed to be BAA's main Airline who can't cope in the situation of snow that was forecasted weeks ago. The aircraft are old, tatty and dirty, staff motivation is abysmal, operational issues. They are not deserving to run this airline and the staff don't deserve to have jobs in the way they coped with this last night. We had worse snow in Brussels. We are hosting the Olympics here and yet our public transport can't cope when it comes down to it.

This morning there is no information on their website. You have to hold for 20mins to speak to an advisor. You then have to log a claim for lost baggage as obviously these yellow forms have not yet been processed. There is no apology – nothing. I am also surprised this is not on the news – we were treated disgustingly. No access to water and small children crying/tired and disabled people left with not so much as a customer service advisor supporting/checking they were ok.

I would like an official response from BA and I would like my bag back today, it is totally unacceptable.

Last week though my plane landed at 12.30pm and because of a technical hitch there was no gate. We waited 25 minutes on the tarmac and disembarked at 12.55pm. After a fast walk, no queue at the Iris booth, my bags were already on the belt and I got out to meet my cab by 1.15pm

Not bad eh?!

Business travellers arriving on the last flight back from stockholm the other day, knackered, fullyloaded flight, took three busses one after another to get them back…. oh and guess what SAS who don’t have their own terminal drop you right at the gate; emmmm guess which i’ll be flying next time to stockholm…

BA sort it out! They should have to declare stuff like this pre-boarding.

Departures though is an unmitigated nightmare. Where is premium check-in? I don’t want to have to queue for ages with the coach travellers when I’m travelling in business. The security is just a disaster. Can someone explain to me what was wrong with handing the trays back over the machine? The auto-tray return just makes it impossible to get your stuff. You have just got something out of the tray, then all the trays move and you have to chase it down the conveyor.

Probably the single biggest annoyance though is the walk to the lounge. You come through security and the lounges are on the right, yet BAA insist you have to walk past pretty much every shop to get there, and BA just meekly bend over and take it. This time I got to the lounge, and asked where the VAT refunds desk is – you guessed it, back by security – so I had to do the trip 3 times. I would have gone directly out to the B-gates lounge (which at least reduces the walking), but they hadn’t announced the gate of my NY flight when I arrived, and I was advised not to head out there.

The other thing that really bugs me is the lack of announcements in the loungs. This means you have to sit somewhere near a TV to see when your flight is boarding. A big retrograde step. I asked in the B-gate lounge (after my flight had been announced to be going from the B-gates and I moved over there to check the lounge out), they told me that they didn’t want to announce because there would be too many announcements. Wait a second, there were 20 flights on the screen in the B-gate lounge, far less than you used to get in T4.

Overall T5 is just too big for it’s own good. Bring back T4 is a message I will definitely echo.

Now that you mention it I had a bit of trouble with the runaway security recepticles.

And I wish there was a global policy on shoes and taking laptops out of bags – that lack consistency!

I have had the misfortune of flying through T5 last visit and I was totally disappointed! Here is my miserable experience for what it is worth.

Arrival from Seattle (Oct 22nd) into T5. Long(ish) flight but not too bad. Landed, no probs. Bus to terminal. Odd but I though “OK, probably a busy morning”. Luggage waiting for me at claim even though I was No.2 in the passport lane. Very impressed. T5 was doing well.

Leaving from London to Seattle from T5. HORRIBLE. Dropped off by AVIS bus. No signs as to how to get to terminal. Guessed correctly. Up very tardy lift into large check in area with no signage. I am BA Silver (and was travelling Club) so looked for ages to find right area but found the quick check in area by mistake. Checked in OK. Then sent to what was supposed to be fast track, but nobody monitoring so I was with everyone else. Sneakily checked other peoples boarding cards for validation. Security was a mess with automatic buckets that didn’t stop so I had to physically grab my box to stop it running away with my property! Totally screwed up system as I was carrying an A3 sized print that I’d been given but it wouldn’t fit into a box so at one point they said, sorry you’ll have to check this. After a bit of grumpyness on my part, they rammed it through.

Even though it was only 1hour until my flight, no gate info so I wasn’t sure which lounge to go to. Went to South lounge and after walking for what seemed like about a mile, then up about three escalators I reached the lounge agent who was mean and up her own arse. Told me I had to get a bus to my plane and I should turn around. She did agree I had time for a quick visit to the loo.

Got to gate. Huge queue, no fast track and then rammed onto a bus to go to the plane. Told by gate agent that T5 doesn’t have enough gates in the terminal and now they are building more. So, let me get this straight, BA and BAA builds this monster terminal with every possible shop and service yet they forget to build enough gates to “cope with the number of BA flights”. Does anyone else think this is retarded.

Anyway… all I can say is “BRING BACK T4″

J.