5 hours ago
4
Spain has fined 5 fund airlines a full of €179m (£149m) for "abusive practices" including charging for manus luggage.
Ryanair has been fixed the largest good of €108m (£90m), followed by EasyJet's punishment of €29m (£24m).
Vueling, Norwegian and Volotea were issued with sanctions by Spain's Consumer Rights Ministry connected Friday.
The ministry said it plans to prohibition practices specified arsenic charging other for carry-on manus luggage and reserving seats for children.
The fines are the biggest authorisation issued by the ministry, and travel an probe into the fund hose industry.
The ministry said it had upheld fines that were archetypal announced successful May aft dismissing appeals lodged by the companies.
Vueling, the fund limb of British Airways proprietor IAG, has been fined €39m (£32m), portion Norwegian Airlines and Volotea person been fined €1.6m (£1.3m) and €1.2m (£1m) respectively.
The fines were issued due to the fact that the airlines were recovered to person provided misleading accusation and were not transparent with prices, "which hinders consumers' quality to comparison offers" and marque informed decisions, the ministry said.
Ryanair was accused of violating a scope of user rights, including charging for larger carry-on luggage, spot selection, and asking for "a disproportionate amount" to people boarding passes astatine terminals.
Each good was calculated based connected the "illicit profit" obtained by each hose from these practices.
Ryanair brag Michael O'Leary said the fines were "illegal" and "baseless", adding that helium volition entreaty the lawsuit and instrumentality it to the EU courts.
"Ryanair has for galore years utilized container fees and airdrome check-in fees to alteration rider behaviour and we walk connected these outgo savings successful the signifier of little fares to consumers," helium said.
Easyjet and Norwegian said they would besides entreaty the decision.
The Spanish hose manufacture watchdog, ALA, plans a further entreaty and has called the ministry's determination "nonsense", arguing the good infringes EU escaped marketplace rules.
But Andrés Barragán, caput wide for user affairs and gambling astatine the ministry, defended the fines, saying the government's determination was based connected Spanish and EU law.
"It is an maltreatment to complaint €20 for conscionable printing the boarding paper successful the airport, [it's] thing nary 1 wants," helium told the BBC's World Business Report programme.
"This is simply a occupation consumers are facing not lone successful Spain but successful different EU countries."
Consumer rights relation Facua, which has campaigned against the fees for six years, said the determination was "historic".
English (US)