The airlines with the worst records for handling travellers' baggage have been named by the Air Transport Users Council (AUC).
Air France, KLM and British Airways all appear in the list of the five poorest performers.
However, AUCspokesperson Tina Tietjen says that those operators using hub airports such as London Heathrow tended to come out worse than those who didn't, suggesting that part of the problem may lie with the airports.
BAA, which manages terminals at Heathrow, yesterday issued a statement in which it admitted there are still problems with its baggage handling procedures.
An ongoing software problem had reduced the luggage handling capacity of the Terminal 4 building.
TAP Air Portugal topped the list as the worst carrier, with 27.8 bags delayed per 1,000 and 21 per 1,000 lost.
British Airways was second in the list, losing 23 bags per 1,000. Gareth Kirkwood, director of operations at BA, offered a full apology for the poor service.
"While our performance at the vast majority of global airports remains good, we continue to experience a wide variety of difficulties at our main home at Heathrow," he explained.
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