The House of Commons Transport Committee said some people in the aviation industry "seemed extraordinarily complacent about safety", which was a "flawed" attitude.

The BBC's Simon Montague: "Air traffic overload incidents have doubled"

The committee called for an independent transport safety authority.

It also urged an inquiry into the phenomenon of "air rage" on the day a man was jailed for a year for refusing to switch off his mobile phone during a flight.

However, a Civil Aviation Authority report says 1998 was the safest year for UK air travel, with no crashes and fewer near misses than previous years.

Worrying workload

MPs said they were "extremely concerned" about the workload faced by staff at the main air traffic control centre in West Drayton, west London.

There were 49 occasions in 1998 when an air traffic controller had trouble handling the volume of traffic in his area - more than double the number logged in 1997, said the committee.

The move from West Drayton to Swanwick has been delayed

The West Drayton centre had been marked for closure in 1996 as staff were to move to a new £350m centre at Swanwick in Hampshire.

But computer software problems have delayed the move until early in the next century.

The MPs' report said: "We believe that they [the overloads] are evidence of the risk to safety posed by continued delays . . . at Swanwick."

29 areas of concern

It called for the move to Swanwick to be completed as soon as possible and recommended a limit on air traffic until then.

It also said there were "strong arguments on safety grounds in favour of increasing runway capacity" in the south east.

The report highlights 29 areas of concern, including the number of pilots who have retired or are about to retire and the shortage of aircraft maintenance engineers.

It criticised the lack of action on both smokehoods for passengers and a redesign of Boeing 737 cabins after the 1985 Manchester air disaster in which more than 50 people died in a fire while their plane was still on the ground.

Air rage 'understandable'

It also called for a full examination of the "air rage" phenomenon.

"If a passenger is allowed to get drunk while sitting in cramped conditions for several hours and then is told that he cannot smoke, it is understandable, although not excusable, that his behaviour may become disruptive," the MPs said.

They have asked the government to oversee closely the record of the CAA's safety regulation group, and urged a review of the policy for checking foreign aircraft after a Far Eastern carrier almost ran out of fuel over London.

Funding concerns

The delay in moving the West Drayton operation has highlighted concerns about the ability of National Air Traffic Services (NATS), part of the air traffic control service, to finance the investment it needs to operate effectively.

In October the government confirmed plans to put 51% of the country's air traffic control system into private ownership, to generate investment by the private sector.

This has been fiercely opposed by air transport unions saying it would create a "Railtrack of the skies".

But shadow transport minister Bernard Jenkin said NATS was unable to move forward as the government had refused to give a date for the sale.

"Increasing delays at airports will be the result for years to come. On this issue the Select Committee is silent," he said.