Spain fines four low-cost airlines for charging hand luggage

The low-cost airlines Ryanair, Vueling, EasyJet and Volotea were sanctioned in Spain with more than 150 million euros in fines for, among other practices, charging passengers for hand luggage, consumer associations reported this Friday.

The fines also punish the charge for seat selection when traveling with dependent people, such as the disabled and children, or the prohibition of paying in cash when purchasing tickets at airports, explained in a statement the consumer association FACUA, one of the complainants.

“It has been almost six years of fighting to get the authorities to act against practices through which airlines have been illegally inflating their profits and we have finally achieved it“said the general secretary of the association, Rubén Sánchez, in the statement.

According to FACUA, the total amount of fines is more than 150 million euros (almost US$163 million), but some will have to pay more than others.

The company that received the largest sanction is the Irish Ryanair, “the first to start charging for carry-on luggage, in November 2018″. Behind it, the Spanish Vueling, and then, at a much greater distance, the British EasyJet and the Spanish Volotea, according to FACUA.

Sources from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, which imposed the sanctions, confirmed to AFP that a file was opened a year ago for “four low cost airlines” and that these files gave rise to sanctions, although they did not want to confirm “the companies affected or the economic amounts.”

The decision can be appealed, these sources explained, and the airlines will do so, Javier Gándara, president of the Association of Airlines (ALA), told the press.

The sanction “It seems absolutely disproportionate to us.”Gándara said. Besides, “the fact that it is not yet a firm sanction may give rise” to “that there are passengers who go to airports thinking that it is illegal, when it is not the case”, he warned.

If the elimination of the aforementioned supplementary payments is successful, ALA argues that those who travel without cabin luggage would have to pay for services that they do not need, but Rubén Sánchez, from FACUA, replied that this is a fallacious argument.

“The sector is trying to convey the idea that they lower the price of those who do not carry luggage, and it is false, they illegally increase the price, they are illegally enriching themselves with many millions of euros from those who do carry a small baggage. hand”, he explained at a press conference.

“Another thing is that we carry luggage in the hold.”Sánchez admitted.

FACUA encouraged consumers to claim a refund of these extra charges and noted that it is processing numerous cases in defense of those affected.