'Lost luggage' topped the list of complaints against airlines in a report compiled by the European Consumer Centre (ECC) - which covers the European Union, Iceland and Norway - with Irish carriers Ryanair and Aer Lingus the biggest offenders.

'The total complaints rose to 2,979 in 2006 from 1,521 a year earlier,' the report said on Thursday, adding that problems with luggage accounted for 33 per cent of claims, while 26 per cent of complaints concerned cancellations and 16 per cent were over delays.

The ECC report recommends greater penalties for lost luggage and for an automatic mandatory payment for passengers to purchase emergency items when their luggage is lost. It said it had yet to determine how much this payment should be.

'Most of the complaints in 2006 are against the same airline companies as in 2005 ... from Ireland, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and France,' the report said.

'It is also shown that consumers from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium make the most complaints.

'In the first six months of 2007, some 1,500 complaints and disputes relating to air travel have been received.'

Although the report does not specify which airlines are responsible for the complaints, 612 angry passengers complained after travelling with 'Irish airlines' - up 181 per cent from 2005.

Ryanair dismissed the importance of the report.

'The ECC received just over 400 complaints about Ryanair, which equates to just eight letters for every one million passengers carried by Ryanair. This is less than 10 complaints a week,' it said in a statement.

But the ECC said the complaints received represent the tip of the iceberg.

'The analysis of complaints received by ECC-Net relating to air travel should, therefore, be read within a wider context,' it said in a statement.

REUTERS