Spain has fined four budget airlines, including Ryanair and Easyjet, more than 150 million euros for charging passengers for hand luggage and other practices deemed abusive, consumer groups said on Friday.
The airlines were also fined by the Ministry of Consumer Rights for forcing passengers to pay to choose a seat so they could sit next to their children or other dependents and not accepting cash when selling tickets at airports, according to consumer rights organization Facua.
Spanish airlines Volotea and Vueling, part of the International Airlines Group that also owns British Airways and Iberia, among others, were the other two budget airlines to be fined, said Facua, who has campaigned against the fees.
“It has been a struggle for almost six years to get the authorities to act against practices where airlines illegally inflate their profits and we have finally succeeded,” Facua Secretary General Ruben Sánchez said in a statement.
The fines total more than 150 million euros ($163 million), with some airlines having to pay more than others.
Irish no-nonsense airline Ryanair, which was the first to start charging extra for hand luggage in November 2018, was imposed the largest fine, Facua said without specifying the amount.
Vueling received the second largest fine, followed further by Easyjet and Volotea, it added.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Consumer Rights contacted AFP and confirmed that proceedings were opened a year ago against four budget airlines, which have now resulted in fines. He did not name the airlines or indicate the amount of the fines.
The airlines will appeal against the fines, which “seem to us absolutely disproportionate”, the head of Spanish aviation industry group ALA, Javier Gandara, told a news conference. If the surcharge is abolished, passengers traveling without carry-on 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 that is wrong: they are illegally making the price more expensive, they are illegally enriching themselves with many millions of euros. that do carry small carry-on luggage,” Sánchez said
Ryanair said last week that net profit rose by a third to 1.92 billion euros in the financial year as higher demand and fares offset rising fuel costs.
