Spain’s leftist government said Friday it has fined five budget airlines including Ryanair Holdings PLC and EasyJet PLC €179 million for ‘abusive practices’ such as charging passengers for hand luggage.
The carriers, which also included Spanish airlines Volotea and Vueling along with Norwegian Air, were also fined for charging passengers to reserve adjacent seats for children and other dependents and not accepting cash when selling tickets at airports, the consumer rights ministry said in a statement.
Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair, which was the first to start charging extra for hand luggage in November 2018, was slapped with the biggest fine of €107.8 million, followed by Vueling – part of the International Airlines Group SA which also owns British Airways – which was ordered to pay €39.3 million.
Ryanair has announced it will immediately appeal the fines, which it called ‘illegal and baseless.’
EasyJet was fined €29.1 million, Norwegian Air €1.6 million and Barcelona-based Volotea €1.2 million.
The fines are also for providing misleading information and lack of price transparency ‘which hinders consumers’ ability to compare offers’ and make informed decisions, the ministry said.
Ryanair was specifically fined for charging passengers a ‘disproportionate amount’ for printing their boarding passes at terminals when they did not have them.
The different fines were calculated based on the ‘illicit profit’ obtained by each airline from these practices.
The ministry said it had upheld fines that were first announced in May and dismissed the appeals lodged by companies.
Consumer rights association Facua, which has campaigned against the fees, hailed the decision as ‘historic’.
‘These sanctions are the highest ever applied by a consumer protection authority,’ it added in a statement, saying passengers could now claim reimbursement of these charges.
IAG shares fell 0.7% to 244.80 pence each on Friday morning in London, easyJet shares were up 0.9% at 516.20p in London and Ryanair shares were down 0.2% to €18.23 each.
source: AFP
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