Ryanair's £91million baggage fines 'frozen' as major rule set for change

Ryanairhas been handed a massive £91million victory by a Spanish court.

The budget airline has been let off paying a €107million (£91million) fine slapped on it last year by the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The organisation had claimed that the airlines’ policies on charging for hand luggage violated consumer rights.

The fines were part of a wider crackdown that included three other airlines, including Norwegian, totalling €179 million (£152million) in fines.

Now the Spanish High Court in Madrid has decided to let Ryanair off, allowing the ruling to sit as a precautionary one.

It comes during a big week for air passenger rights, with the EU'sTransport and Tourism Committee voting to boost the amount of free hand luggage passengers flying to or from member states can take.

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"Passengers should have a right to carry on board one personal item, such as a handbag, backpack or laptop (maximum dimensions of 40x30x15 cm), and one small hand luggage (maximum dimensions of 100 cm and 7 kg) without an additional fee," the committee decided. Before this decision becomes law, it must be voted through by the European Parliament in the coming weeks, and then discussed by country representatives for the European Council.

The proposals have been met with fierce opposition from budget airlines and the Spanish Association of Airlines (ALA), which has criticised it and the Ministry’s fines.

The organisation argues that such measures limit consumer choice and disrupt fair competition in the EU’s single market. “It’s about offering different service models at different price points,” the association stated.

Ryanair claims that the legal ruling this week "upholds Ryanair’s right, under EU law, to offer customers the freedom to choose — and pay for — any bags they choose to bring onboard, in addition to the free under-seat bag all Ryanair passengers bring onboard free of charge."

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The Madrid Court noted that “the dispute between the parties is indeed complex, and it is not foreseeable that material harm would be caused to the general interest if these charges continue during the proceedings, particularly considering that such practice has been in place for years and that even the European Union is currently reformulating the current legal framework concerning whether such charges are permissible”.

Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary said: “The Spanish High Court has rightly upheld EU law which protects the freedom of all EU airlines to set our own prices, a fundamental right guaranteed under EU Reg 1008/2008. The Court also upheld the right of all Spanish passengers to choose how much cabin baggage they wish to carry and pay for in addition to Ryanair’s ‘maleta gratis’, which is bigger than the EU’s prescribed sizes.

With over €10 billion invested in Spain, Ryanair contributes over €24 billion to Spain’s GDP, supports more than 10,000 direct jobs for pilots, cabin crew and engineers. Given the current political climate in Spain, Minister Bustinduy has far more pressing matters to address than interfering with low-cost air travel — an industry that is vital to Spain’s economy. We now call on Minister Bustinduy to show respect for EU law and the needs of Spain’s passengers and scrap his unlawful bag fines.”