VIP treatment: Kate Moss handed £10,000 compensation in latest Terminal Five lost luggage fiasco
Last updated at 16:05pm on 13th April 2008
It seems not even supermodels are immune to Heathrow's incompetence as Terminal Five has claimed yet another victim to lost baggage.
Kate Moss was stunned to learn her eight Louis Vuitton suitcases - carrying the top-secret new range of her Topshop clothing - had been lost.
But being a celebrity does have some perks as she was quickly attended to by an army of airport staff - and instantly awarded £10,000 in compensation.
Luggage queen: Kate checks in at Terminal Five, with her eight suitcases in tow
BA's generous compensation will provoke outrage for the thousands of customers whose bags disappeared during the Ternial Five debacle - and for those who lose their luggage everyday and receive only minimal compensation.
The supermodel, 36, arrived in Los Angeles with her five-year-old daughter Lila Grace and was close to tears when she discovered the bags, worth £3,000 each, were missing.
But help was soon at hand as BA chief Willie Walsh put two members of senior staff in charge of locating the luggage before authorising the payment.
The supermodel sat with her heads in her hands in despair as her bags were among the 20,000 cases lost at Terminal Five since it opened last month.
Damsel in distress: The supermodel is close to tears when she realises her cases are missing
Kate then enlisted the help of Topshop owner Sir Philip Green, who phoned BA chairman Martin Broughton and offered the airline use of his lorries to distribute passengers's bags.
A source told the Sunday Mirror: "Kate was caught up in the appalling scenes at T5, and just like thousands of other people experienced first hand the incompetence of BA.
"But unlike the rest of us, BA staff were fawning all over her. They paid £10,000 in compensation."
Helping hand: An army of security guards offer their assistance
Six of the eight cases have since been recovered as Kate returns from her two-week holiday on Monday.
And while Kate was awarded a lump sum, another supermodel was not subject to the same royal treatment by the airline.
Moss took time out of the holiday with Lila Grace in California to fly to Miami for a one day shoot
Earlier this month, Naomi Campbell has been banned from flying with British Airways following a violent outburst on a plane.
The troubled supermodel, 37, was arrested at Heathrow's Terminal 5 last Thursday after clashing with staff over a missing bag. After rowing with cabin staff on the London-Los Angeles flight, she allegedly assaulted a police officer who came on board in an attempt to defuse the argument.
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