"Further chaos at Heathrow as British Airways struggles to get back to normal"

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Further chaos at Heathrow as British Airways struggles to get back to normal
The Associated Press


LONDON - Passengers suffered further delays at London's Heathrow Airport
Tuesday as British Airways struggled to get services back to normal after
weekend walkouts by check-out staff caused dozens of flights to be canceled.

Hundreds of passengers were left waiting outside Terminal Four while
hundreds more waited in crowded lines inside.

The airline erected several large marquees in the car park outside the
terminal building to house passengers, some of whom have been stranded at
the airport for several days. Staff with tannoys informed passengers of
waiting times.

The workers walked out on Friday evening and Saturday morning in protest at
plans to introduce Automated Time Recording (ATR), an electronic system in
which employees swipe a card at the start and end of their shifts. Workers
believed this could lead to staff being sent home during quiet periods and
working longer when it was busy.

BA rejects that charge, saying the timekeeping system is common in British
industries.

The airline says it is negotiating with unions representing the workers, but
the airport chaos is doing little for its reputation.

Among disgruntled passengers still in line Monday was Chris Carroll, 65m who
has waited four days for a flight back to his home in Detroit, Michigan.

``We are not happy with BA. We have been traipsing back and forth from our
hotel for four days now and until yesterday we could not get near the BA
ticket counter,'' he said.

``At least we have had the money to stay here (in a hotel) and buy food. A
lot of the young people do not have any money and could not even afford to
do that.''

After spending their honeymoon in Britain, auctioneer John Bowman, 28, from
Harrisonburg, Virginia, and his wife Mindy have waited two days for a flight
back to Washington.

``It has been pandemonium,'' said Bowman said. ``We have had a good time but
this has really taken a toll on our honeymoon experience. All of the nice
things we have done have faded into the background because of the stress of
trying to get back home.''


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