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5,000 bags still missing in chaos at airports

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: British Airways on Tuesday said nearly 10,000 bags belonging to its passengers had gone missing because of the continuing chaos at Heathrow and other airports following the introduction of new security measures last week in the wake of the abortive alleged terror plot.

Although 5,000 bags were traced, another 5,000 were yet to be returned, it said, amid indications that BA was considering seeking compensation from the British Airport Authority (BAA) which runs Britain's major airports.

BA's chief executive Willie Walsh blamed the BAA management for the confusion, saying it had "no adequate plan" to deal with the emergency.

The airlines apologised to passengers for the delay in finding their luggage and said this was due to "a combination of issues with the BAA's baggage systems which have all contributed to the situation."

Flood of complaints

"We are working as hard as we can to re-unite bags with customers as soon as possible," it said.

There has been a flood of complaints over lost luggage since the new restrictions on carrying hand luggage onto the plane came into force last Thursday.

One passenger, Marie Henley, said that her baggage had been missing since last Saturday when she returned to London by a BA flight from Brussels. She told the BBC that she still had no idea where it was. She said when she complained to the airlines she was told that there were "thousands'' of misplaced pieces of luggage."

A BA spokesperson said: "Essentially what's happened is that, because we've had so many problems at Heathrow because we've had people coming through terminals so slowly, sometimes the bags haven't made it with them."

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