Commissioner Kuneva warned airlines that full compliance with EU law is an obligation, not an option. File photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
On the eve of a meeting of 27 national enforcement agencies and stakeholder groups in Brussels, the European Commission has stepped up pressure on airline companies selling tickets on the web to meet all the requirements of EU law.
EC Vice President and EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani along with European Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva have already sent a joint letter to airline representatives, setting a 30-point checklist of consumer rights that all web pages selling air tickets must respect.
"My message to the airline industry is very clear, full compliance with EU law is an obligation, not an option. And the patience of consumers across the EU is wearing thin," MS Kuneva said.
"60% of websites with irregularities have now been corrected as a result of our EU investigation which is ongoing since September 2007.В But there are still too many consumer complaints about hidden charges and fees, and too many cases where pricing is not clear," the commissioner added.
More than 700 million air tickets are sold every year in the European Union. According to statistics, these sales are highly digitalised but the rights of consumers buying tickets online are still not secure since the Commission reports they receive a great number of complaints about air ticket selling websites.