The biggest airport in Britain has become a Bermuda triangle for passengers' luggage, new figures published yesterday revealed.
Baggage delays worsened last year, with airlines travelling through hub airports such as Heathrow faring the worst and British Airways one of the poorest-performing airlines.
They blamed new security precautions, including restrictions on cabin baggage, with the terror raid on Glasgow airport a major factor.
The Air Transport Users Council said an average of 16.6 bags per 1000 passengers were delayed on flights operated by major European airlines in 2007. This compared with a figure of 15.7 bags per 1000 passengers in 2006.
The worst performer was TAP Air Portugal with a delayed bags ratio of 27.8 per 1000 passengers.
BA, which had been the poorest performer in 2006, was second in the 2007 list with 26.5 bags delayed per 1000 passengers, up from 23 in 2006. The major carriers, particularly those using Heathrow as a hub, figured most prominently among the worst-than-average performers last year, including KLM (19.7 bags delayed per 1000 passengers), Alitalia (19.7), Air France (17.6), Luxair (17.2) and the UK's bmi (17.0).
Air Malta and Turkish Airlines were the best-performing carriers, with a lost bag ratio of only 4.5 per 1000 passengers in 2007. The statistics related to members of the Association of European Airlines, but not all carriers submitted figures. Among those not giving bag information were Virgin Atlantic Airways and Aer Lingus.
Tina Tietjen, chairman of the Air Transport Users Council, said: "We have spoken to BA and BAA, the airport operator of Heathrow, BA's main base, about the problems they had with baggage handling in 2007.
"But, whatever the extenuating circumstances, when passengers hand their bag into a check-in they should expect to see their bag at the other end. Complaints to the Air Transport Users Council show that delayed baggage can cause passengers considerable stress, inconvenience and expense."
BA director of operations Gareth Kirkwood said the one-bag rule and increased security after last summer's Glasgow airport terrorist attack had not helped the situation. He added: "We fully apologise to customers who have been affected by delayed baggage in the past year."
A spokesman for BAA said:"We are committed to working with the airline community to develop innovative baggage handling solutions for Heathrow and drive performance."
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