Consumer Affairs fines five low-cost airlines 179 million euros for abusive practices

Nov 24, 2024 | Current affairs, Featured, Interview, Portada, Post, Revista Lloseta, Thursday Daily Bulletin, Tradition

The Minister for Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy, has signed sanctions against Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet, Norwegian and Volotea for abusive practices such as charging extra for hand luggage or for reserving seats next to each other for accompanying dependents.


The minister has signed off abusive practice sanctions against five low-cost airlines for a total amount of around 179 million euros (€178,933,631.99) for abusive practices such as charging extra for hand luggage or reserving adjacent seats for accompanying dependents. The airlines penalised are:

Ryanair: 107,775,777 euros.
Vueling: 39,264,412 euros.
Easyjet: 29,094,441 euros
Norgewian: 1,610,001 euros
Volotea: 1,189,000.99 euros

Using a signed order, Pablo Bustinduy has confirmed the sanctions proposed by the Secretary General for Consumer Affairs and Gambling, and has therefore dismissed the appeals lodged by these companies. This brings to an end the investigation initiated by the Directorate General for Consumer Affairs in 2023 into practices that have been classified as ‘very serious’ infringements of the consumer regulations set out in article 47 of the revised text of the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of 16 November (TRLGDCU).

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Consumer Affairs fines five low-cost airlines 179 million euros for abusive practices

This is the first time that sanctions classified as very serious have been given finality by the General State Administration in the field of consumer affairs, whose ministry acquired sanctioning powers in June 2022. The sanctions also include the express prohibition to continue with the practices that have been sanctioned, which are as follows:

Requiring the payment of a surcharge for the carriage of hand luggage in the cabin (Article 47.1 TRLGDCU, letter j).

Requiring the payment of a surcharge on the price of the ticket for the reservation of adjacent seats in the case of minors and dependent persons and their companions (Article 47.1 TRLGDCU, letter j).
Not allowing payment in cash at Spanish airports (Article 47.1 TRLGDCU, letter ñ).
Imposing a disproportionate and abusive fee on passengers for the printing of the boarding card (Article 47.1 TRLGDCU, letter j).
Misleading omissions of information and lack of clarity in the prices published both on its website and those of third parties, make it difficult for consumers to compare price offers and for them to make a decision (Article 47.1 TRLGDCU, letter m).
Furthermore, in the case of the airline Ryanair, a practice is also sanctioned whereby users are charged a disproportionate amount for printing the ticket at the terminal when they do not have it.

To ensure the proportionality and effectiveness of the penalties imposed, as well as their deterrent effect, the calculation of the penalties has been carried out using the criterion of the illicit profit obtained, i.e. calculating the fine based on the profits obtained by the airlines from the infringing practices, as established by the Consumer sanctioning regime: for practices classified as very serious, the penalties to be imposed could reach up to six to eight times the illicit profit obtained when this exceeds the amounts of the fines stipulated (between 100. 100,001 and 1,000,000 euros).

This order signed by Minister Bustinduy puts an end to administrative proceedings. A contentious administrative appeal may now be lodged with the Administrative Chamber of the Audiencia Nacional within two months. Once this two-month period has elapsed, if the companies have not appealed with the courts, the order will become effective.