T5 chaos caused by lack of IT training

13:09 4th November 2008

British Airways (BA) has admitted that a lack of IT training was responsible for the chaotic scenes witnessed at the opening of Heathrow Terminal Five.

In a report published by the House of Commons Transport Committee, BA accepted that its staff were not familiar with the new computer systems and that its IT training and not been thorough enough.

The airport operator BAA, who worked in partnership with BA on the implementation of its IT systems, opened Heathrow's fifth terminal on March 27th 2008 at a cost of £4.3 billion.

Louis Ellman MP, chairman of the committee, explained that what should have been an occasion of national pride was in fact an incident of national embarrassment.

She said: "We acknowledge the inevitability of 'teething problems' but it is deeply regrettable that so many were allowed to bring the operation of Heathrow's newest terminal to a halt."

Last month, the network and communication systems leader at Cern, David Foster, claimed that a global computer grid could be sued to protect the world against natural disasters.