Who Cares About Heathrow's T5?

I don't, but the media seem to. Why? The coverage is similar to the passport backlog, but notice one key difference - it's possible to travel by plane without suffering from the T5 calamity. I was supposed to be traveling to Vegas on Friday, but far from panicking about whether I'll get there (and if my Rimowa Topas will join me) if I was still going I'd be relaxed. Why? Because I bought a ticket with Virgin. So why do we care about T5? Is it purely because it's the previously nationalised airline, who still retain their "Britishness" in their name? Is it because of the state-fueled racket run by BAA that's turned our airports into disgusting shopping centers? Seriously, should I - as an Englishman - be feeling embarrassed?

Comments

[Jim]

Think its high profile is due to a mix of schadenfreude and the economics of rolling news. TV news loves stories that are visually arresting (all those queues!), provide a rich supply of quotes (all those people in queues!) and don't require journalists or producers to actually do real work or go anywhere outside the M25.

[Andrew Mellor]

Some interesting points. I think there's a lot of media back-slapping, ie, 'we told you Heathrow was a joke, now look at this...'. What you don't hear about are the architectural achievements, and the fact that the other terminals - as well as BA's operation out of Gatwick - are all fine. I think the chaos is probable thrust into a worse light after the success of the incarnation of St Pancras International.

And Anthony, your Rimowa Topas would have fitted into the overhead lockers, so you'd have been OK even if you were with BA (unless your flight was cancelled).