(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission on Tuesday gave airlines six months to better respect EU laws on passenger rights and threatened to step up legal action against them.

"Over the next six months, the Commission will carry out checks in airports to ensure that airline companies are providing passengers with the information, assistance and compensation provided under the law," it said in a report.

Two years after the introduction of new rules on compensation for passengers and assistance for those denied access to a plane or whose flights are delayed or cancelled, the Commission said some airlines have found them tough to apply.

While the EU's executive body concedes the measures have been "imprecise in certain areas", it maintains that they have been "applied in an inefficient manner in some (EU) member countries."

It said that if things do not improve, the measures could be changed to "guarantee that the rights of passengers are fully respected" and that it "reserves the right to intensify infringement procedures" after six months.

Under rules that came into effect in February 2005, compensation can run from 250 to 600 euros (320-770 dollars), depending on a flight's distance, if passengers flights are cancelled or they are victims of over-booking.

For late flights -- more than two hours for short-haul flights, three hours for inter-EU country travel and more than four hours for long-haul flights -- meals, lodging and a means of communication must be provided if needed.

A study published in November by the European Consumer Centres Network found that the airlines were badly implementing or bending the new EU rules.

They highlighted parts which allow carriers to invoke "exceptional circumstances" such as political crises, strikes or bad weather, as a reason not to compensate passengers.

The Commission also complained that airline passengers often had to wait a long time to receive any answer to demands for compensation.

Air Passenger Rights in the European Union

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