MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Heathrow T5 fiasco becomes managers mincing machine

The London Heathrow airport boss who oversaw the opening of Terminal 5 is to leave his job, the airport's owner has said. Mark Bullock had “chosen to leave” his job as the airport's managing director because of a change to management roles, according to Spanish-owned BAA.

Last week British members of Parliament said the T5 fiasco had "made a fool out of the country" and called for an explanation. Many flights were cancelled and thousands of bags lost when the £4.3 billion terminal was opened in late March. British Airways, which operates from terminal, said last month that two of its top executives - operations director Gareth Kirkwood and customer service director David Noyes - were leaving the airline following the problems at T5. BAA's chief executive Colin Matthews said Mr Bullock had "made a significant contribution to BAA and to Heathrow Airport in particular and has led the airport through a particularly challenging period". He is to be replaced by Mike Brown, currently chief operating officer at London Underground. The British Transport Select Committee heard last week that Mr Matthews "was unaware" that T5 was not ready when it opened for business. Baggage systems had not been tested sufficiently and lifts were out of order, he told the committee. BAA's non-executive chairman, Sir Nigel Rudd, said he was "bitterly disappointed" about the opening of the terminal. "It was clearly a huge embarrassment to the company, me personally and the board," he told MPs