BA cancels flights as Heathrow T5 chaos drags on

By Golnar Motevalli and Pete Harrison

HEATHROW (Reuters) - British Airways canceled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6 billion terminal at London's Heathrow airport as its high profile launch gave way to a second day of chaos and embarrassment on Friday.

Passengers hoping for an early end to the problems at the state-of-the-art terminal were told a further 54 short-haul and European flights would be cancelled on Saturday although all long-haul ones would operate as normal.

"I'd again like to apologize to those customers who have suffered disrupted journeys or baggage delays," BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh said in a statement.

"Our staff in the terminal are being supported by around 450 volunteers and they're working really hard to look after our customers and offer them the world class experience that we know Terminal 5 can deliver."

It was a public relations disaster for the carrier that once styled itself the "world's favorite airline" -- and weighed on its shares.

BA said it dropped the short-haul flights on Friday to ease congestion as it tried to recover from the mess left by Thursday's opening, when nearly 70 flights were cancelled and passengers were left distraught.

Jackie Bachmann, 40, from Switzerland encountered baggage problems as she traveled with four other snooker players to an amateur competition in Glasgow.

"We had problems with our bags and his snooker cue is missing," she said. "Now we are waiting here for the next flight to Glasgow."