The “low cost” airlines Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet, Norwegian and Volotea have been fined a total of almost 179 million euros for “abusive” practices such as charging supplements for hand luggage or reserving adjacent seats to accompany dependent persons. The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, which leads Pablo Bustunduy, has informed this Friday that Ryanair has been fined 107.7 million euros, while Vueling has received a sanction worth 39.2 million euros, these two airlines being the ones that concentrate most of the total amount of the fine. EasyJet’s fine amounts to 29.09 million euros; Norwegian’s fine is 1.6 million euros and, finally, Volotea’s fine amounts to 1.18 million euros. The penalties were proposed by the General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs and Gaming in May. They also dismissed the appeals filed by the low cost airlines.
Severe penalties
This is the first time that sanctions classified as very serious are given finality by the General State Administration in the field of consumption, whose ministry acquired sanctioning competence in June 2022. The sanctions also include the express prohibition to continue with the practices that have been sanctioned. Among them, requiring the payment of a supplement for hand luggage in the cabin, the surcharge for the ticket price in continuous seats for dependents and companions, not providing cash payment or imposing a fee for printing the boarding card. The calculation of the penalties has been made by calculating the fine based on the profits obtained by the airlines for the infringing practices, as established by the Consumer Penalty Regime. This order signed by Minister Bustinduy puts an end to the administrative procedure. A contentious-administrative appeal may now be filed before the Administrative Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional within two months. Once this two-month period has elapsed, if the companies have not filed an appeal before the courts, the order will become effective.
