Ryanair, easyJet and others fined millions over 'abusive' fees

Some of Europe's largest airlines, including Ryanair, have been slapped with hefty fines amounting to £150 million for charging "abusive" fees to passengers. These penalties are a result of practices such as charging travellers extra for cabin hand luggage, and additional costs to make sure families can sit together.

Spanish authorities, who have also decided to ban these fees, have taken the lead in the crackdown. Many UK holidaymakers are now expecting similar measures from British regulators and the government, which could shield travellers from unexpected charges during the booking process.

Ryanair's chief, Michael O’Leary, has slammed the fines as "illegal" and is gearing up to challenge them. Budget carriers often lure customers with seemingly low base fares, only to ramp up the overall price with added fees for essential parts of the journey.

In Spain, the consumer ministry has imposed fines on a total of five airlines, with Ryanair facing the steepest penalty of £90m (€107m). Vueling has been ordered to pay £32m (€39m), easyJet must fork out £24m (€29m), while Norwegian and Volotea have been handed smaller fines of £1.3m (€1.6m) and £1.6m (€1.9m) respectively.

The consumer ministry has announced that it is cracking down on certain airline practices, including additional charges for carrying hand luggage onto flights and requiring extra payment to reserve adjacent seats for children or dependants. Furthermore, the ministry has prohibited "disproportionate and abusive" fees for boarding pass printing and has ordered transparency in pricing to facilitate consumer comparisons.

Additionally, airlines are now required to accept cash payments at Spanish airports. These sanctions stem from an investigation initiated last year by Spain's consumer affairs and gambling authorities, which identified "very serious" violations of the country's consumer regulations. Although the penalised airlines appealed, their challenges were dismissed today by the ministry.

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This marks the first instance of such severe penalties imposed by the nation’s consumer affairs authority since obtaining the power to sanction in 2022. While airlines like Ryanair may respond by increasing base fare prices, critics argue that this move would enhance honesty and transparency within the industry. Ryanair, expressing strong disagreement with the "unlawful and baseless" fines, confirmed it is actively seeking an appeal through its legal team.

Chief executive Michael O’Leary said: "These illegal and baseless fines, [which] have been invented by Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry for political reasons, are clearly in breach of EU law."

He argued that Ryanair uses baggage and seating fees to change passengers’ behaviours, which allows the airline to keep prices low. He complained: "These illegal Spanish fines, which are based on an ancient 1960’s law which predated Spain joining the EU, would destroy the ability of low cost airlines to pass on cost savings to consumers via lower fares."

Javier Gandara, the head of the Spanish Association of Airlines (ALA) industry group, said all the carriers would appeal against the fine for cabin baggage charges, though not all would challenge other measures such as forcing airlines to accept cash when selling items on board.

ALA called the Spanish consumer ministry's decision "nonsense" and said it violated free market and EU rules. Mr Gandara said the decision would hurt the Spanish travel industry, as no other EU country prevents extra charges for large carry-on bags.

However, countries like Italy have limited some budget airline practices. In August, Ryanair lost an appeal against a ban on extra fees for seat reservations next to children under 12 or people with disabilities.

Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy said: "Which? research has shown that add-on fees for bags and seats can drive up the price of so-called low cost flights by hundreds of pounds for a family, so it's important that regulators clamp down on these sneaky pricing practices. " They also urged action from officials: "The UK government should ensure that additional fees for add-ons like seat selection and luggage are made clear at the very start of the booking process, so travellers can easily compare the final price they’ll pay with different airlines. Unfair charges for parents to sit with children on flights should also be banned."