Jack the Lad:
I was deliberately being non-specific about the "target" for my post. What is both unforgiveable and desperately sad is a management environment that has allowed a situation to develop whereby customer-facing staff at an airline can wilfully abandon a terminal full of passengers at a moment's notice - an act which has simultaneously ruined the plans of thousands of passengers' and their families, as well as hugely adding to the workload of those many selfless others around the country who are being left to sort out the resulting chaos.
I fear my epithet of "prats" may apply equally to management and staff in this sordid mess - to anyone in fact who did not realise that his/her actions will do nothing but adversely affect the credibility and future of a once great airline.
In my more cynical moments I used to fear that BA's attitude remained one that considered us passengers to be mere annoyances that stopped it from running an efficient airline.
Now I know!