Spain has fined four budget airlines including Ryanair and Easyjet over 150 million euros for charging passengers for hand luggage and other practices deemed abusive, consumer groups said Friday.
The carriers were also fined by the consumer rights ministry for forcing passengers to pay to choose seats so they can sit beside their children or other dependents and not accepting cash when selling tickets at airports, consumer rights association Facua said.
Spanish airlines Volotea and Vueling, part of the International Airlines Group which also owns British Airways and Iberia among others, were the other two budget carriers that were slapped with fines, said Facua, which has campaigned against the fees.
“It has been almost six years of battling to get the authorities to act against practices whereby airlines have been illegally inflating their profits and we have finally succeeded,” Facua secretary general Ruben Sanchez said in a statement.
The fines total over 150 million euros ($163 million), with some airlines ordered to pay more than others.
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, Facua said without specifying the amount.
Vueling received the second largest fine, followed at a greater distance by Easyjet and Volotea, it added.
Contacted by AFP, a consumer rights ministry spokesman confirmed that proceedings were opened against four budget airlines a year ago which have now resulted in fines. He did not name the airlines or give the amount of the fines.
Hungary-based Wizz has benefited from robust demand as it navigates challenges including flight cancellations last year due to the Middle East conflict and engine inspections that have grounded parts of its fleet. “As we enter F25, demand for air travel remains robust, with no sign of abating in the near term, supporting a higher yield environment as capacity across the whole industry remains constrained,” CEO Jozsef Varadi said.
The airlines will appeal the fines, which “seem to us absolutely disproportionate”, the head of Spanish airlines industry group ALA, Javier Gandara, told a news conference.If the extra fees are abolished, passengers who travel without hand luggage will have to pay for services they do not need, he added. Facua rejected this argument.
“The industry is trying to convey the idea that they are making the price cheaper for those who do not carry luggage, and this is false, they are illegally making the price more expensive, they are illegally enriching themselves with many millions of euros with those who do carry small hand luggage,” Sanchez said
Ryanair last week said its net profit jumped a third to 1.92 billion euros in its financial year as higher demand and fares offset ballooning fuel costs.
