Check in at the airport
Ryanair pays back 1.5 million euros in fees in Italy
Forgot to check-in online and then paid extra before departure? In Italy, the competition authority is now putting limits on such practices. More than 100,000 passengers get their money back.
The low-cost airline Ryanair is paying back the surcharge for checking in at the airport to tens of thousands of passengers in Italy after an audit by the supervisory authority. The regulation applies to all passengers who complained between 2021 and 2023 that they had to pay an additional 55 euros at the airport because they had not checked in online on time. In total it is a sum of more than 1.5 million euros.
As a result of the complaints, the Italian competition authority Antitrust initiated an investigation into unfair commercial practices against the Irish airline. It came to the conclusion that Ryanair had not adequately informed consumers about possible additional costs. It was also criticized that when booking Ryanair for an outbound flight, all special requests for the return flight were automatically taken over.
Extra costs always cause trouble
The competition authority relied on two paragraphs of the Italian consumer protection law. Ryanair then agreed to refund the additional costs of checking in at the airport. There will also be vouchers for a number of passengers. According to the authority, a total of more than 100,000 passengers can expect a refund. The extra costs beyond the standard ticket – for example for luggage – always cause trouble on flights.
dpa
Source: Stern
