In a win for airline consumer rights, Spain has taken aim at five European low-cost carriers for charging extra for cabin luggage and other violations, handing out €179 million (around AUD$290 million) in fines with Irish budget airline Ryanair the hardest hit.
Ryanair was fined almost €108 million (around AUD$175 million) while Spain’s Vueling and British-based easyJet copped penalties of €39 million and €29 million respectively.
Norwegian Airlines was fined €1.6 million and Spanish LCC Volotea received a €1.6 million fine.
First handed down in May 2024, the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs sanctions were upheld after rejecting appeals from the carriers.
The ministry issued sanctions against airlines that had made “very serious” consumer regulation breaches, calculating fines based on the “illicit benefits” obtained by the airlines from these practices.
These include charging extra for hand luggage and reserving adjacent seats for children, both of which are now prohibited in Spain.
Other airline consumer rights violations included a lack of website pricing clarity and not allowing cash payments at Spanish airports.
Beleaguered Ryanair was singled out for its controversial check-in charge – charging passengers a “disproportionate amount” to print their boarding pass at the terminal.
Ryanair, easyJet and Norwegian have filed administrative appeals against the fines.
For or against airline consumer rights?
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told the Guardian the fines were “illegal” and “baseless”, saying the fees are designed to change consumer behaviour and allow the LCC to offer lower fares.
“These illegal and baseless fines, which have been invented by Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry for political reasons, are clearly in breach of European Union law. Ryanair has, for many years, used bag fees and airport check-in fees to change passenger behaviour and we pass on these cost savings in the form of lower fares to consumers,” he said.
“The success of Ryanair and other low-fare airlines in Spain and across Europe in recent years is entirely due to Europe’s Open Skies regime and the freedom of airlines to set prices and policies without interference from national governments,” he added.
Spain’s Minister of Social Rights, Consumption & Agenda Pablo Bustinduy clapped back at the carrier’s comments, defending the sanctions.
“These are practices that, unfortunately, millions of people know firsthand and that consumer associations have been complaining about for years,” he said.
“[The fines] send a very clear message, that no company, no matter how big or powerful, is above the law. And that there cannot be business models that are based on the violation of airline consumer rights or abusive practices.”
