The news that two senior BA executives have carried the can for the T5 fiasco is a welcome example of accountability in the private sector.
BA's directors of operations and customer services are both leaving the company following the massive problems that have dogged the new terminal's opening. Both have left to presumably "pursue other opportunities" but BA is refusing to confirm whether they were pushed.
A BBC reporter said he believed they had paid the price for BA's inability to explain what had gone wrong on the first day at Terminal 5. On the morning when the problems first emerged, operations chief Kirkwood was caught by TV cameras walking away quickly from reporters, declining to answer questions.
Whatever the real reasons, we should welcome the news. The T5 opening has been a disaster for BA both reputation-wise and financially - costing £16m so far and counting. It is this type of corporate accountability that is seemingly lacking in the public sector.
Can you imagine the same thing happening in a Whitehall department? No, neither can I.
There you would see no individuals taking responsiblity for failings, instead things would be blamed on the classic "systemic failures". The officials thought to be culpable would be quietly moved to another role or sent to another department.
BA's stance is refreshing. I hope the directors were leaned on to go - that would mean the company is holding its hands up, saying it messed up and these two individuals were to blame. They can now start again with fresh faces and look forward.
Here's to more of this across the public sector.
