British Airways CIO apologises for T5 launch debacle
- Reduce text size Decrease text size
- Increase text size Increase text size
- Print article Print
- Jump to comments Comment
- Share this article Share
- Email article to a friend Email
Paul Coby admits making mistakes in the lead-up to the launch of Healthrow Terminal 5, and advises others behind similar projects to invest in greater staff training
British Airways’ chief information officer, Paul Coby, has publicly apologised for the bungled opening of Heathrow’s Terminal 5, admitting that the airline had suffered “serious damage” to its reputation.
“We do make mistakes. T5 is probably at the front of all your minds, and I would just like to say that I am very sorry,” he said, speaking at the Forrester IT Forum in London. “It was a tough experience for customers and a tough experience for us.”
The grand opening of the new BA terminal was heavily marred by the failure of the baggage-handling system, resulting in thousands of misplaced passenger bags and the cancellation of more than 500 flights. BA has previously blamed the incident on a combination of software failures and poor training.
Cody said the airline would refocus on staff training when planning future projects.
“When you launch a project of the scale of T5, focus on people training,” he advised. “Do as much training and formalisation as you think you might need, and then triple it.”
Further reading
Terminal IT management Does the staggering IT failure at Heathrow's Terminal 5
prove big bang projects never work?
Staggering IT failure at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 Poor staff training implicated in disastrous collapse of baggage-handling system
