It's about time there was a passenger's charter in which incompetence of this level counted as a criminal offence. At the very least, BAA should be made to compensate passengers - say to twice the value of their ticket. And have a limit placed on how much they can increase their charges.
I totally agree with green granite. This is the usual BAA management incompetence. Knowing what happens if the baggage system fails, they should have emergency back up procedures of some sort. Of course, less automation and more manual staff could actually be less likely to have these cock ups.....