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Flying by the seat of your pants

You may have read reports in CJ last week that the mechanical and engineering budget for the shiny new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow has slipped by about £100m.

That can't please airport operator BAA. Amid reports they are in a race against time to meet the March 2008 opening date, they insist the final budget won't be compromised. But with all this talk of balance sheets and last-minute wiring, it seems they may have overlooked a more basic element - the toilets.

In fact, a recent dry-run at T5 turned out to be very dry indeed. I hear the baggage handlers didn't have toilets on their floor and had to travel up two levels to relieve themselves. There were murmurs that it might be a permanent situation when the all-singing all-dancing terminal opens for real next year.

BAA were quick to stamp on those suggestions, assuring me there would be no need for baggage handlers to go in 'thunder boxes'. "There will be toilets for everyone throughout the building," a spokeswoman told me. Welcome relief for the baggage handlers no doubt.

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