Coming through T4 Wednesday last week... 1.5 hours waiting on the tarmac for a gate to become available (1.5 hrs!!!!), eventually parked in a slot away from the terminal, then 1 bus for a full A321... had to wait 15 mins for another one, then no floor escalators working, slow walk from gate behind strolling numpties, then v. long queue at immigration and only 2 staff working the non-EU line (what happened to immigration fast track???), then 20 mins wait for baggage (what had they been doing all that time???), then couldn't find driver because of heaving throng waiting outside, then the car exit from ST parking at the bottom was closed - again - so we had to work our way up to the top again in queue of cars, then bumper to bumper traffic on M25
and M3. All in all, from landing (on time) to home (normally 1 hour) took 4 hours.
Possibly not all events were BAA's fault - even they can't be blamed for the state of the M25.... but I can't help thinking that the original lack of gate and delay led to me being in the wrong place at the wrong time (rush hour) and all subsequent delays.
I do think that it is crazy that BAA should enjoy this monopoly, it allows them to continue to treat both passengers and the airlines with contempt, as the Monday morning crush proves week in and week out. I hope that the OFT or some other body has the guts to threaten the sale of these airports to separate companies - I see no compelling reason why they need to be owned by one entity, and I'd like to see some carrot or stick introduced to incentivise them to treat their customers and the public with a lot more respect.