Air Passengers’ Complaints Went Up in 2006, EU Consumer Commission Says

Commenting on the European Consumer Center Network’s Report on Air passenger complaints handled by their centers in 2006, EU Consumer Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva welcomed the report and congratulated them for this important and
comprehensive view of problems encountered by consumers day to day.

She said the report is completely in line with what we want to do in terms of investigation followed by enforcement, as was done in the recent ‘sweep’ investigation of websites selling airline tickets.

The report, which analyzed problems handled by the ECC centers across Europe found that the main problems concerned: luggage problems 33 percent, cancellations 26 percent, delays 16 percent.

The complaints compiled in the report demonstrate that the legislation on air passenger rights is not fully respected and that with a doubling of complaints in this area in 2006, work remains to be done to ensure that consumers get the protection they are entitled to.

The report makes a series of 34 recommendations which the Commission will study attentively. This is an independent report carried out by the ECC Network in 27 European countries.

The report analyses air passenger complaints received in 2006, which were up 96 percent on 2005, when EU rules on delays, cancellations and denied boarding first came into force and a full information campaign was launched.

The Report comments on the problem areas, covering all issues, not just those covered by Community legislation. It highlights the work done by each ECC that year and suggests recommendations for possible improvement.