Aren't a lot of the "volunteers" supposedly helping out upstairs in check-in etc making people feel "happy" (and helping showing people where to go
Yes, and could BA really get security passes for all of them to go and help out airside on a weekend? Isn't this one of the great unspoken issues in all of this fisaco? Anyone opening a multimillion pound automated warheouse (which is what the baggage system is) would have flooded the works with systems experts on day 1 to ensure that the eventual operators pressed all the right buttons. But at an airport the dead hand of the DfT would surely make it nearly impossible to get any of them anywhere near the sharp end. There have been hints of this in previous posts (e.g. unable to bring in drinking water containers through security for the harrassed staff etc). Perhaps someone on the front line could confirm. My experience of Transec and BAA security (I retired several years ago, but post 9/11) is that they set up an impractical system of mindblowing complexity that makes honest workers (yes there are some) cheat just to get on with the show, e.g. borrowing a cleaner's ID because one's own had been zoned out due to operating through T1 for a month thereby losing T4 zone validity, and you needed it to get back inside after the outside check...). Oh, and it didn't stop several squads of armed robbers getting in either. The silence from BAA is deafening, but add that from DfT to it.
While I'm on a rant, can't we get away from this 'Lions led by Donkeys' image of BA staff and their management? Donkeys led by asses might be nearer the truth. Lets fact it, BA ramp workers, badly treated as they were, were still responsible for their own utter indifference to the job in hand, and their strict demarkation. The most common sight on arrival was a veritable army of bods lolling about while the steps stayed resolutely where they were parked awaiting the arrival of the one bloke ‘authorised’ to move them… or whatever other bit of equipment was needed. There were supposed to be new contracts for T5 which were going to introduce a new spirit of cooperation, what happened to them? Leaving it all until T5 day 1 would in itself be the height of stupidity, just one more change to have to accommodate on the big day, not to mention a lot of training to multiskill the guys (again there have been hints of that happening in the travellers tales).
I can't say I'm surprised it all went belly up, just very, very disappointed.