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British Airways delays full move to Terminal 5

Airline's phased approach allows it to handle busy summer, travelers' needs

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updated 11:50 a.m. ET May 28, 2008

LONDON - British Airways PLC and airports operator BAA said Wednesday that it will not shift its remaining long-haul flights to Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 until after the busy summer period.

After switching some long-haul flights to the problem-plagued new terminal in early June, BA and BAA said they will transfer the rest in two phases later in the year.

Some 30 daily arrivals and departures will be moved from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 on Sept. 17, including services to and from Washington, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Toronto, Mexico City, Nairobi, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha and Kuwait.

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The final set of 15 daily departures and arrivals will take place "at the end of October," the companies said.

"Terminal 5 is working well, and this phased move has been planned in the interests of our passengers and the smooth operation of Heathrow over the busy summer period," they added in a statement.

Once the transfers are completed, BA will be handling a total of around 510 flights each day out of Terminal 5, comprising around 150 long haul flights and 360 short haul flights.

BA had originally intended to shift all flights from other terminals at the airport to Terminal 5 in just a couple of days at the end of April, but that plan was curtailed by a raft of problems at the new facility that led to hundreds of canceled flights and lost bags.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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