Spain has fined five budget airlines €179m (£149m) for “abusive practices,” including charging extra for hand luggage. Ryanair has been fined almost €108m (£90m), – the largest of the fines – while IAG’s Vueling was issued a €39m (£32m) penalty on Friday. The Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs issued sanctions against airlines that had made “very serious” violations of consumer regulations.
It said that alongside the fines, practises including charging extra for hand luggage and reserving adjacent seats for children would now be prohibited. Low-cost easyJet received a fine of €29m (£24m), while Norwegian Airlines and Spanish company Volotea were fined €1.6m (£1.
3m) and €1.2m (£1m) respectively. Pablo Bustinduy, minister of social rights, consumption and agenda, added that fines first announced in May would be upheld after rejecting appeals launched by the carriers.
The €179m (£150m) fine is the biggest sanction issued by the ministry following an investigation into practices in the low-cost airline industry. Sanctioned airlines were also found to not allow cash payment at Spanish airports and lacked price clarity on their websites, said the Spanish body. Irish carrier Ryanair was additionally singled out for their controversial check-in charge – charging passengers a “disproportionate amount” to print their boarding pass at the terminal.
The ministry said that the sanctions were calculated based on the “illicit benefits” obtained.