BA staff offered counselling after hoax bomb alert at Heathrow
British Airways staff have been offered stress counselling after "chaos" delayed the mass evacuation of Heathrow Terminal Five amid fears of a terrorist attack.
Rumours spread that a Mumbia-style terrorist suicide attack had been launched against the airport Photo: AP
The incident earlier this month was sparked by a hoax 999 call claiming a bomber was planning to set off an explosive device in the airport.
Witnesses claim widespread panic overcame staff and passengers after rumours spread that a Mumbia-style terrorist suicide attack had been launched against the airport.
An apparent lack of preparation at the terminal, which is only used by British Airways flights, also led to disarray during evacuation with staff in the departures area unclear about how to exit the building and where to go once they had.
Now senior British Airways managers have launched an urgent investigation into what went wrong at the new BAA-owned Terminal, which opened three years ago.
An airport security source said: "There was a lack of leadership, direction and control. This was a hoax but the lack of preparedness would have been a disaster if a real attack had taken place.
at the police do not have the luxury of time to make basic inquiries about whether the threat is real. "In this case there was a suggestion of a terrorist at large carrying a bomb in the airport and the officers and security staff would have had to act immediately."
But he added: "What is really disturbing is that when the order to evacuate was given those who should have put the emergency plan into effect appeared to have no idea what to do."
A senior British Airways source at the Terminal added: "In the end staff and passengers were led down the traffic ramps from the departure level to the ground level.
"There was no designated rendezvous point and none knew where they were going or what to do."
The incident led to huge numbers of BA staff complaining of "poor organisation" to Vicki O'Brien, the airline's head of Customer Service at Heathrow.
Staff have now been offered counselling with many complaining of "suffering stress and anxiety".
Ground staff were warned at Christmas that the UK could face a co-ordinated shooting and bombing attack similar to the events in India in 2008. Heathrow was identified as a likely potential target and staff were put on a heightened state of alert.
Last week Ms O'Brien circulated an email apologising for the incident and telling staff she "shared their concerns".
British Airways executive Andrew Lord, the airline's Director of Operations, has now been called in to carry out an investigation into what went wrong.
The incident on 11 March saw passengers and staff evacuated and the terminal was closed for more than an hour while police searched a man's bags.
The man was stopped before he had gone through security at Terminal 5 but some planes were delayed by the scare. Another man, reportedly an angry gay lover, was later arrested for making the hoax call.
A spokesman for BA said: "Following a review by the airport authority, British airways is carrying out its own review into the incident.
"This is an entirely normal process and is carried out after every form of disruption to ensure we are constantly improving our procedures.
"The safety of our employees is very important so as a responsible employer we would normally offer support to our staff following an incident such as this."
But he added: "What is really disturbing is that when the order to evacuate was given those who should have put the emergency plan into effect appeared to have no idea what to do."
A senior British Airways source at the Terminal added: "In the end staff and passengers were led down the traffic ramps from the departure level to the ground level.
"There was no designated rendezvous point and none knew where they were going or what to do."
The incident led to huge numbers of BA staff complaining of "poor organisation" to Vicki O'Brien, the airline's head of Customer Service at Heathrow.
Staff have now been offered counselling with many complaining of "suffering stress and anxiety".
Ground staff were warned at Christmas that the UK could face a co-ordinated shooting and bombing attack similar to the events in India in 2008. Heathrow was identified as a likely potential target and staff were put on a heightened state of alert.
Last week Ms O'Brien circulated an email apologising for the incident and telling staff she "shared their concerns".
British Airways executive Andrew Lord, the airline's Director of Operations, has now been called in to carry out an investigation into what went wrong.
The incident on 11 March saw passengers and staff evacuated and the terminal was closed for more than an hour while police searched a man's bags.
The man was stopped before he had gone through security at Terminal 5 but some planes were delayed by the scare. Another man, reportedly an angry gay lover, was later arrested for making the hoax call.
A spokesman for BA said: "Following a review by the airport authority, British airways is carrying out its own review into the incident.
"This is an entirely normal process and is carried out after every form of disruption to ensure we are constantly improving our procedures.
"The safety of our employees is very important so as a responsible employer we would normally offer support to our staff following an incident such as this."
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