Complaints by passengers about cancelled flights have soared, new figures reveal

IT appears likely that the rise is due to the increased number of low-fare airlines, the Air Transport Users Council said.

In the 12 months to March 2004, the council received 740 complaints about cancellations, compared with 558 in the 12 months ending March 2003 and 354 in the 12 months ending March 2002.

Cancellations accounted for 13% of complaints it received in 2003 - 04, with only mishandled baggage generating more moans, although these were well down on 2002 - 03.

Overall, the council received 5,722 complaints in the year to March 2004 - a seven per cent increase on 2002 - 03.

Of the 2003 - 04 total, 1,750 were written and 3,972 were made by phone.

Council chairman Tina Tietjen said: "The increase in complaints about cancellations is becoming a cause for concern. It appears likely that the rise in no-frills traffic is fuelling the surge in these complaints.

"So, while we commend the success of no-frills carriers, we call on them to convince us that the inconvenience and costs suffered by passengers when flights are cancelled are not the flipside to the benefits these airlines bring."

The council published a list of the top 20 airlines in terms of the written complaints received, although these were not weighted according to passenger numbers.

British Airways, which carries the highest number of UK passengers, topped the table, although the number of complaints against BA fell slightly from 257 in 2002-03 to 252 in 2003-04. Budget airline easyJet had the next most complaints - 173 in 2003 - 04 compared with only 106 in 2002-03.

Ryanair, the Irish no-frills carrier, improved on its 2002 - 03 performance and the council congratulated it and Air France, whose complaint numbers also fell. Ms Tietjen said: "We fully support the Civil Aviation Authority's efforts to persuade the Government to bring in new consumer protection legislation in this area."

WHAT PEOPLE PROTESTED ABOUT

These were the main complaints received in writing and by telephone by the Air Transport Users Council in the 12 months to March 2004, with the previous 12 months' figures in brackets.

1 Mishandled baggage 901 (1,163)

2 Cancellations 740 (558)

3 Delays 560 (506)

4 Ticketing issues 480 (593)

5 Reservations 437 (382)

6 Schedules 366 (271)

7 Overbooking 281 (268)

TOP TEN AIRLINES FOR COMPLAINTS

These were the top 10 airlines by number of written complaints in the 12 months to March 2004 (2002 - 03 totals in brackets):

1 British Airways 252 (257)

2 EasyJet 173 (106)

3 Ryanair 160 (201)

4 KLM 70 (140)

5 Flybe 68 (24)

6 Bmibaby 67 (25)

7 Air France 41 (139)

8 Emirates 39 (26)

9 MyTravel 36 (32)

10 Virgin Atlantic 36 (29).