The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Audit of 2030 reported that it opened File authorization for a new airline with a low level of bones for possible insulting practices, such as charge manual baggage Or to choose a place for minors or dependent people.
Consumption did not reveal the name of the airline Because, since, according to the sources of the ministry, the law does not allow it until the final decision is signed, nor the possible amount of the fine with which it can be authorized.
The period of training of files and their resolution regarding consumption is nine months if there is no interruption, motivated by which circumstances provided for administrative rules.
This is about Sixth file From this type, which opens after those who gave fines signed by Minister Pablo Bainduy on November 22, 2024, for a total of 179 million euros, Against Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet, Norwegian and VoloteaField
The highest sanction was for Ryanair with almost 107.8 million eurosfollowed by Vueling, with 39.3 million; Easyjet, with 29.1 million; Norwegian, with 1.6 million; And Volote with about 1.2 million.
As in these five files, this new procedure opens practices that can be considered offensive Based on Article 47.1 of the General Law on Consumer and Users.
They include payment for additives for transporting manual baggage in the cab and Reserve of neighboring places in the case of minors and dependent people And his satellites, as well as deceptive omissions of information and the lack of clarity in prices published both on their own web, and on the third person, which prevents the comparability of proposals and decision -making by consumers.
The fine is 8 times higher than illegal benefits
The opening of this new file includes sanctions that They can be considered serious violations, With Fines between 10 001 and 100,000 euros up to four and six times compared to illegal benefits; And very seriously, in this case, it can be from 100 001 to a million to six and eight times higher than the gain.
As in previous cases, the legal basis of this new sanctions file is based on The decision of the Court of the European Union (TJUE) 2014 (called Vueling). This It prohibits airlines to introduce additional fees for wearing manual baggageSince he considers this an indispensable element of passenger transportation, if he reacts to reasonable requirements related to their weight and size, and satisfy applicable safety requirements.
On the other hand, he believes that, unlike baggage of accounts, the hand brings the exceptional responsibility of the passenger and does not imply any expenses associated with his turnover, monitoring and storage. This decision was also approved by the European parliament on October 4, 2023, with the permission of the resolution to encourage states to guarantee compliance and respect for this judicial conclusion.
The Spanish government was the first in Europe to impose sanctions for this type of practice Violence, when on November 22, 2024, Buithrinduy signed orders with which fines were officially executed for five mentioned companies, which closed files opened in June 2023. These sanctions are currently fried on the justice of the airline, include a clear ban on continuing authorized practice.
However, on June 26, the Supreme Court of Madrid (TSJM), suspended at the request of Ryanair and Norwegian, consumption sanctions, although I have imposed bank guarantees that reach 110 million eurosWhich was repeated yesterday with Vueling.
Changing the rules will not affect files
In parallel, on June 5, the Council of the European Union, under the benefit of the Presidential, established its positions in the CE proposal to update the community rules on delays and cancellation and, within this, It was included in the legalization of manual baggageA proposal that went forward from a minimum.
The qualified majority of 65% was necessary and was approved with 65.57%, and the voice against countries such as Spain, Germany, Estonia and Portugal, and positioning against countries such as France. However, on June 24, the commission on the transportation of the European Parliament voted for the vast majority (38 votes in favor of 42) standardizes packages that can be transferred in the cabin, ratifying that manual baggage collection is illegal practice.
Consumption sources explained that if the rules change in the future, they will not have a direct influence on processing or resolution through the trial by current files or to which are now initiated that they are made on the basis of existing rules at a time when the facts have been adopted.
