Ryanair among five low-cost airlines Spain slapped with fine | World | News
Spain has slapped fines on five budget airlines for charging passengers for hand luggage and seat reservations. The fine amounts to a total of £150 million.
Ryanair will have to pay the lion’s share of the fine (£89.7m), which was described as “baseless” by the company’s boss Michael O’Leary.
The financial sanctions announced on Friday by the Consumer Rights Ministry will also have to be paid by Vueling (£32m), EasyJet (£24m), Volotea (£997k) and Norwegian (£1.3m).
The ministry is upholding fines first announced in May, after dismissing appeals lodged by the airline companies.
Pablo Bustinduy, the Minister of Consumer Affairs, said: “No company, no matter how large or powerful, is above the law.
“Business models cannot be based on violating consumer rights with abusive practices.”
The Ministry claimed that the practices had generated between £18 million and nearly £25 million in “illicit profit.”
The low-cost airlines argued that the extra charges are permitted under current EU legislation.
They also claimed that flight prices would go up significantly if the ban was not overturned.
Ryanair has instructed its lawyers to launch another appeal as it contests the ruling.
O’Leary, the company’s chief executive, said: “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.”
A spokeswoman for EasyJet said the airline would join Ryanair in appealing the ruling and would “vigorously defend” its position.
“We completely disagree with the Spanish Consumer Ministry and find the proposed sanctions outrageous,” she said.
“We consider our bag policy to be in line with all applicable laws, and as such there is no change to our current cabin bag policy.”
The imposition of the fines followed a wide-ranging investigation into practices in the low-cost airline industry by Spain’s government.
