British Airways has hired a headhunting firm in its continuing search for an executive to run Heathrow Terminal 5.

Willie Walsh created the position when he fired the two men deemed responsible for the botched launch of T5, operations manager Gareth Kirkwood and customer services director David Noyes.The new position will incorporate both of these roles, which is thought to complicate the search for the right candidate.

Whitehead Man was the original leading recruitment agency hired to find the replacement however it was unsuccessful and has now been replaced.

The launch of T5 was hailed as a “national humiliation”. The litany of disasters included 20,000 bags being separated from their owners, numerous cancelled flights, transferring passengers missing their connecting flights due to baggage delays, and many airport staff not knowing their way around the new £4.3bn terminal due to insufficient training.

BA plans to complete its entire move to T5 this week. It had been delaying the transfer due to the shaking start the new section of airport. So far 10.5m passengers have travelled through the new terminal.
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