The Risk Factor

The UK press is reporting that British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has fired two BA executives as a result of the Heathrow Terminal 5 opening week problems. The two are Gareth Kirkwood, the operations director who handled the logistics of the transfer to Terminal 5 from Terminal 4 and David Noyes, the customer services director who supervised training for all customer-facing staff. Both were asked to leave immediately, and it was clear from the BA press release that they are being blamed for the disaster. Walsh says he will take over both jobs, as well as his own, until someone can take over both jobs which will be combined into a central operations manager position.

Of course, Walsh made a big deal about accepting responsibility for the problems, but obviously, that "acceptance" has a hard limit.

In a bit of double-speak, BA said that firing the two executives meant that Walsh was indeed taking responsibility: " 'He [Walsh] has said from the beginning and on Friday that the ultimate responsibility is his. That's why he has taken interim charge of these two areas until the chief operations officer is appointed. That is taking responsibility.' "

It was also reported that many insurance companies are now stopping coverage for lost luggage or delayed flights for passengers going through Terminal 5. They say that they will restore coverage when conditions at the Terminal improve.

Finally, the Financial Times is also reporting that it may take until October, instead of June, for BA to move all of its flights from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5.

I bet insurers don't offer Terminal 5 baggage coverage until November, at the earliest.