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T4 baggage system down

Travellers from Heathrow's Terminal 4 face flying without hold luggage today, as problems continue with baggage system software.

Passengers are being advised to contact their airline to check the current situation and to consider travelling with hand baggage only. Hold bags will be manually sorted today.

The system crashed yesterday causing thousands of passengers to either fly without their luggage or miss their flights and rebook or accept refunds. Several thousand bags have been lost as a result of the problem, according to BAA, who own both London Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

A BAA spokesperson said last night, "The performance of the Terminal 4 baggage system has today been reduced by an ongoing software problem.

Whilst every effort is being made to rectify the problem over night and contingency plans have been put in place, there is a risk that operations out of Terminal 4 may be affected tomorrow.

Passengers travelling through Terminal 4 tomorrow should check with their airlines before coming to the airport to understand the potential impact on their travel plans. In particular, passengers should consider minimising the amount of hold luggage they check in..."

British Airways and KLM are the main airlines flying from T4, with British Mediterranean Airways, Qantas, SN Brussels Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Air Malta also using the terminal. Approximately 14.2 million passengers pass through T4 each year.

BAA is part of the Spanish group, Ferrovial, and has recently been criticised by airlines, travellers and politicians for poor service standards, particularly at Heathrow.

Written by: Maxine Clarke