Ryanair, easyJet, Bueling, Volotea fined for “abusive” passenger baggage rules

Ryanair and easyJet have been fined for “abusive” baggage rules as light travelers warned they could pay more. Ryanair and Easyjet, which both fly out of Birmingham, are among the budget airlines hit with fines totaling €150m (£128m) by Spanish authorities for “unfair” practices that involves seat and baggage rules.

Spain’s Consumer Ministry has slapped four low-cost carriers with a €150m fine for charging passengers for hand luggage and forcing them to print their ticket, according to industry sources. The four operators (Ryanair, Volotea, Vueling and easyJet) also face the biggest penalty in the history of low-cost airlines for charging an additional fee for hand luggage, charging for seat selection when traveling with people in dependents (such as parents with children), for the lack of contractual transparency and for the prohibition of cash payments.

The Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs issued fines against Ryanair, Vueling, Volotea and Easyjet for “abusive practices”. and the fines will total 150 million euros. The Spanish airline association Asociación de Líneas Aéreas (ALA) said: “It will harm consumers by removing the option as passengers to hire exactly what they need. As a result, the approximately 50 million passengers who currently do not carry hand luggage on board. and under-seat carry-on-only travelers would not be able to benefit from paying for essential services only, forcing them to purchase services they do not use.”

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Eoghan Corry, editor at Travel Extra, said: “Ryanair are being told you can’t charge to put families together and you can’t charge for hand luggage. They faced this resistance throughout Europe from the beginning; they’re fired up, they’re not going to lay down — they’re going to go for it.”

“The argument … is that if you want to sit (together) you pay a few euros more. If not, you get a cheaper flight – that’s the argument,” he said. “Spain is a very important market for Ryanair, they will not walk away from it.”

Agustin Reyna from the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) said: “This is a strong and welcome signal from the Spanish authorities, as unfair airline policies on hand luggage must stop.” “We now need EU-wide standards for hand luggage policies to harmonize what airlines ask of consumers and smooth the air passenger experience,” he added.