Flight passenger complaints up

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Plane passengers made 12,046 written and telephone complaints to the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) in the period April 2006 to March 2007.

This was 22% more than in the previous 12 months, with cancellations forming 40% of the 2006-07 written complaints.

The second-biggest cause of complaint last year was delays followed by mishandled baggage.

The AUC said the changes to baggage regulations in August 2006 and the fog at Heathrow last Christmas contributed to the rise in complaints.

"Too many of the complaints were from passengers who had incurred expenses that they should not have incurred if the airlines had honoured their legal obligations," the AUC said.

AUC chairman Tina Tietjen, said: "We accept that innovations such as online check-in and baggage charges are legitimate commercial decisions. We agree that some of these innovations, such as self-service check-in, can make life easier for passengers.

"But airlines and airport operators must be careful that the changes they make are put in place with the best interests of their customers at heart and not in the interest solely of cutting costs.

"It is in everyone's interest that the whole experience of flying is not made so tiresome that some passengers decide it is not worth the effort and decide to stay at home, however cheap the fare."