Although the crew seems to have nothing to do with the initial error of landing at LHR while everybody was waiting for them in LGW, I do have serious questions with their lack of resistance when SMNC told them they had to fly to LGW with the pax.
Also, when exactly did they find out? They obviously didn't call the Ground Handling guys in Heathrow on beforehand..
Then again, what do you expect? The Captain was a DEC, in the company for less then 6 months, accompanied by 2 FO's, both here for a year or less.. These poor people obviously aren't familiar with the sometimes pushy decisionmaking in Dubai. They didn't stand up against a decision made by some people in an office in Dubai who are just moving around some numbers.. '' EK005 to LGW instead of LHR, busses on the way...''. Don't bother sending a little ACARS or SATCOM call, why do we have all that technology in the first place?
I can only conclude that the crew involved showed a lack of Captaincy and involvement in the decisions that have been made. A decent experienced crew would have told off SMNC about THEIR error not to inform the crew and offloaded the pax in LHR.
But then again, that's probably the price we have to pay for our rapid expansion. Although it wasn't the most clever decisions that have been made, and a lot of money is being lost because of it, it was all safe...
MR8