Heathrow computer baggage system an instant disaster

Sometimes a little technology can be a dangerous thing. Just ask British Airways, which opened a new terminal at Heathrow Airport in London, only to find its new, computerized baggage system was devouring luggage into its recesses instead of plopping it on planes. If BA won't take your call, consider talking to one of those fliers impacted by the incident: Today, the airline canceled 50 flights so it could focus on returning 20,000 lost bags from the last five days to passengers via FedEx.

BA's Terminal 5 has been in the making for 20 years, and it finally opened on March 27. The response was instantaneous and crushing: The computerized baggage handling system just hasn't worked at all as expected. Baggage handlers couldn't even log on to the computer system, forcing them to unload the entire shebang by hand and route the bags manually. The cost of the disruption of service to BA (so far) is estimated at about 50 million pounds ($99.3 million).

Somewhere out there, a programmer is being beaten.

Sadly, it seems BA has learned nothing from the baggage handling catastrophes of yesteryear. Every time I see a bar code on my suitcase handle I think of Denver International Airport, which pioneered an automated baggage system way back in 1995. Despite millions of dollars in additional investment, that system has never worked right, and it continues to draw complaints of lost and mangled luggage to this day. In 2005, United Airlines finally abandoned it, despite having to pay $60 million a year for the 25 years left on its lease.

Traveling from Heathrow on British Airways in the next few weeks? BA says it would love to get things fixed up in the next couple of days. History would appear to dictate otherwise. Plan accordingly.