Terminal 5 shops seek compensation

[5th May 2008]

Shops and restaurants at Heathrow Terminal 5 are believed to be demanding compensation from airport operator BAA after the delay in transferring long haul flights to T5.

British Airways long haul flights were originally scheduled to transfer to the new terminal on 30th April, but following the disastrous opening of Terminal 5 BA decided to delay the transfer until June at the earliest.

Not having long haul passengers at T5 means the number of potential shoppers at the terminal is reduced from the expected 70,000 a day to more like 40,000 a day. And long haul passengers tend to have more time on their hands so they are more likely to spend time browsing in the shops at Terminal 5.

One retail chief executive told The Sunday Telegraph newspaper: "I would be surprised if most retailers were not down by one third versus their expectations".

According to The Sunday Telegraph, some retailers at T5 are now “mothballing” their stores – that is temporarily closing them. HMV has already mothballed a shop in the satellite terminal at T5, and the paper reports that other retailers are believed to be doing the same.

Heathrow Terminal 5 was supposed to take airport shopping to a whole new level. The new terminal managed to attract a host of household names including upmarket brands such as Gucci, Harrods and Tiffany. But now T5’s reputation has been severely damaged and the terminal plus its shops may take some time to recover.

If BAA does have to pay compensation to the stores the cost could run into millions. BAA may then look to reclaim the money from British Airways.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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