BA sees Heathrow chaos clearing

By Pete Harrison

LONDON (Reuters) - Chaos surrounding the opening of its new terminal at London Heathrow should clear next week, British Airways (BAY.L) said on Thursday, after costs to the airline of around 16 million pounds so far.

The high-profile opening of Terminal 5 last month turned into an unmitigated public relations disaster, with hundreds of flights cancelled and tens of thousands of bags going missing.

"We would expect next week to get back to a full programme," BA's head of investor relations George Stinnes told reporters. "By the end of today there should be no bags left at Heathrow. They will all be in movement towards the customer."

The airline said the impact of disruption had been borne by its shorthaul routes where there were 300 cancelled flights, equating to 0.2 percent of capacity.

"The financial impact of these events is estimated to be around 16 million pounds, reflecting all costs associated with the disruption and lost revenue opportunities," it added.

BA shares were down 3.6 percent to 238.5 pence by 4.27 p.m., mostly reflecting losses earlier in the day.

"Not as bad as some estimates," said analysts at Merrill Lynch.

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