The sanctions now confirmed include, in addition to fines, “the express prohibition of continuing with practices” considered infractions
The Spanish government confirmed this Friday a fine of around 179 million euros to five low-cost airlines for making customers pay for hand luggage or services such as choosing adjacent seats.
The five companies fined are Ryanair (107.7 million euros), Vueling (39.2 million euros), easyJet (29 million euros), Norgewian (1.6 million euros) and Volotea (1.1 million euros). euros), revealed the Spanish Government, in a statement from the Ministry of Social Rights and Consumption.
The Spanish authorities had already announced fines for at least four ‘low cost’ companies last May and, after a period of appeal by companies, the sanctions were confirmed today.
According to the Spanish Government’s statement, the application of the fines closes an investigation launched in 2023 by the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs of Spain related to airline practices “which were classified as very serious infringements” of the General Law for the Protection of Consumers and Users.
The sanctions now confirmed include, in addition to fines, “the express prohibition of continuing with practices” considered infractions, the Government highlighted.
These practices include the requirement to pay for the transportation of hand luggage and supplements to reserve contiguous seats on planes to accompany minors and dependent people.
The lack of transparency and omissions in information about the final price of services, the impossibility of paying in cash for supplements charged at airports or forcing people to pay for the printing of travel documents were also sanctioned.
The calculation of the value of the fines took into account “the illicit profit obtained” by companies from these practices.
Companies can now appeal this decision in court within two months. If they don’t, they will have to pay the fines.
The investigation into ‘low costs’ by the Spanish authorities led to complaints from consumer protection associations.
In May, when the decision to apply the sanctions became known, the Airlines Association (ALA), which represents companies that account for 85% of air traffic in Spain, said in a statement that the companies would appeal to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and, if necessary, also in court.
For ALA, the Spanish Government’s decision – which implies the prohibition of charging passengers for hand luggage – harms consumers, by “removing the option of purchasing exactly what they need”.
According to the association, the millions of passengers who only travel with luggage and objects that they place under the seat on the plane (without carry-on or hold luggage) would no longer benefit from lower prices and pay only for essential services, because they would be ” forced to hire services they don’t use.”
The Spanish consumer protection association Facua, in turn, praised the government’s decision and recalled that airline customers have the right to demand a refund of the supplements they were charged.
The consumer protection association OCU also highlighted that it has defended, in successive complaints and denunciations, that hand luggage on planes must be considered essential and, therefore, cannot be subject to a supplement in relation to the price of the travel ticket.
Consumer association Asufín said it hoped the fine would end “impunity” for airlines that violate customers’ rights.
In a statement, the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) welcomed the “strong and welcome signal from the Spanish authorities”, considering that “it is necessary to put an end to airlines’ unfair baggage policies hand”.
“EU-wide standards are needed for hand baggage policies in order to harmonize airline requirements for consumers and facilitate the experience of air passengers”, reads the BEUC statement from May.
