None of the passengers on board the packed British Midland Boeing 737 was aware of the problem, but the pilot reported the incident to the civil aviation authority after landing.
The pilot said he was "temporarily dazzled by a searchlight type beam" near the British Airways London Eye wheel.
The CAA discovered that lasers (above) were being set up for the millennium celebrations. Its report said the lasers were normally switched off whenever an aircraft was near.
But on the night of December 29, "there was so much aerial activity over the river that nobody could differentiate between press helicopters or anything else. The lights have now been removed."
The CAA said last night that the issue of lasers and searchlights over cities was now so serious that air regulatory authorities worldwide were discussing how to tackle the problem.
BA said yesterday that the lasers had been cleared "with the relevant authorities including the CAA", and were discontinued immedi ately after the celebrations. The CAA said that the lights were removed before the complaint was investigated. It was unable to confirm whether BA had contravened an air safety order.
