Heathrow's Tunnel Of Luggage

Stung by the disasters at Terminal 5's opening, BAA has taken unorthodox publicity methods to regain public trust: after mounting an ad campaign with the humble boast that the airport is "working", they're now thrilled about an underground luggage tunnel. It's hardly the stuff of mile-high fantasies, though does sound like something the late JG Ballard would have appreciated. But the tunnel, which reporters got to nose around yesterday, is important: excavated at a rate of 15 metres a day deep below the west London soil, it will link terminals 3 and 5 and, when completed in 2011, be responsible for transporting 110m bags per year. Sadly, it won't guarantee passengers are reunited with their rucksacks after a long flight: as a spokesperson sighed, with Ballardian pathos, "baggage is a very complex world".