BAA takes a battering from bmi boss Bishop

Sir Michael Bishop, chairman of airline bmi, has accused BAA of treating dozens of carriers poorly and a "shameful" refusal to develop a second new major terminal, Heathrow East, in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Claiming BAA had treated many airlines as "second-class citizens" during the recent Terminal 5 crisis, Bishop warned that the airport operator's recent performance is leading to fears of more months of travel woe at Heathrow.

"The recent performance of BAA when it gave airlines just 30 minutes notice that it was to announce that British Airways is to delay moving the rest of its long-haul operations to Terminal 5 - with the knock-on effect that has for 50 other airlines - is not a good omen for the future," Bishop said in a speech to industry lobby group the Aviation Club.

"It is the latest chapter in a sorry tale of reputational disaster, though BAA's reputational loss is their problem not ours.

"However they are bringing yet more reputational loss on themselves by their decision to delay Heathrow East [the dedicated terminal for bmi and its partner Lufthansa who have criticised BAA for favouring British Airways through the T5 development] to 2013.

"I would urge BAA to re-prioritise and redirect its efforts to getting Heathrow East ready in time for the opening of the Olympics in 2012."