BRITISH Airways cancelled dozens of flights as travel chaos continued at Heathrow's new £4.3 billion Terminal 5.
By 8am this morning a total of 36 flights - all of them short-haul - had been axed, and BA had brought in extra staff to cope with passengers who had started queueing as early as 4am.
Amid jostling in the queues, some missed their flights - blaming a lack of desks open to cope with the large numbers, and misinformation.
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But having suspended luggage check-in on Thursday after mounting baggage-system problems, BA is now able to allow hold baggage to be carried on all flights.
A BA spokesman said: "We will have to see how the system holds up. We hope we will do a better job (than Thursday)."
It was the second day of operation of the new terminal which was officially opened earlier this month by the Queen.
The hopes of BA and airport operator BAA that the first day would be a triumph were wrecked by a succession of teething problems which led to 34 flight cancellations, long queues and delayed baggage.
BA had held meetings through the night to try to ease the problems. Many passengers were left stranded overnight, with some finding hotels, but others forced to sleep on benches of the terminal floor.
Tony Pascoe, 35, from Witney, Oxfordshire, said he arrived just after 4am with his mother Ann for a holiday to Vienna - her first flight.
Mr Pascoe said: "I feel like just giving up and going home but my mum is keen to fly because it is her first ever trip. There were lots of other people in the same situation and we all seemed to be getting the wrong information. It is diabolical. I am a frequent traveller and this is the worst experience ever - it is absolutely shocking."
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