3,000 bags grounded by Heathrow chaos

Heathrow officials were today trying to reunite about 3,000 bags with their owners after a computer glitch caused travel chaos.

The problem affected the baggage and check-in system at the airport's Terminal 3 and led to delays and cancellations last night.

Heathrow operator BAA said today two flights had been cancelled, while several were delayed and about 3,000 bags had missed their flights.

At one point, up to 6,000 passengers were prevented from entering the terminal building.

Departure and arrival screens reportedly went blank and all checkin desks were suspended.

A BAA spokesman said today: "We are working with the airlines this morning to rectify this problem. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to passengers last night." The company also advised passengers to contact their airlines before travelling to the airport.

T3 is primarily a terminal for long-haul flights for carriers such as Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines-United, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

The baggage chaos comes ahead of a Competition Commission report due next week into BAA's ownership of Heathrow and six other UK airports.

In an "emerging thinking" report in April, the commission said the Spanish-run company's ownership of so many UK airports "may not be serving well the interests of either airlines or passengers". It also raised concerns over BAA's investment levels, service quality and planning. There are claims the final report could call for a break-up of the "monopoly".