European commissioners Meglena Kuneva and Jacques Barrot have reiterated their readiness to push airlines for improved services for consumers after an air passenger complaints report was published this week.

Luggage problems, cancellations and delays remain the biggest problems, but the report, by the independent European Consumer Centre (ECC) Network, also highlighted the increased number in the area of air passenger rights.

Kuneva, in charge of consumer protection, and Barrot, in charge of transport have said that the findings of the report, which looked at the complaints for 2006, gave them renewed determination to continue with their efforts to enforce EU rules.

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, Kuneva said.

Last month, the EU moved to crack down on websites selling airline tickets that mislead potential customers, carrying out an investigation in 15 member states and Norway to identify offenders.

"This report confirms our own analysis of the situation. The vast majority of passengers have no problems, but some people do encounter difficulties and I want to ensure that they get the treatment to which they are entitled," Barrot said.

"We have pushed the national authorities and the airline industry very hard over the past six months to agree on how to improve things. We have made a lot of progress, but I will now keep a close eye on the situation over the next year," he added.

ECC's report analysed air passenger complaints received last year, which were nearly twice as numerous compared to 2005, when EU rules on delays, cancellations and denied boarding first came into force and a full information campaign was launched.

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