Ryanair agreed to reimburse more than a million and a half euros to consumers who were charged additional fees for not having carried out online billing within the deadline set by the company, after the investigation carried out by the Italian Competition and Market Authority.
As initially contested, the information provided by the airline on the conditions applicable to “online check-in” could have been misleading, because it did not adequately inform consumers about the period of availability of the service and the possible increase in costs in the event of failure to check-in online within the deadline set by Ryanair, as explained by the competition Italian in a press release.
Furthermore, the organization indicated that “when booking a return ticket, if the user had selected the priority and hand baggage option, this was automatically extended to both routes”.
Following this investigation, an agreement was reached and Ryanair will reimburse in full – for an amount equivalent to 55 euros, i.e. the total cost of check-in at the airport – to all consumers who, between 2021 and 2023, sent a complaint to the company.
In addition, all consumers who, during the same period, have made flight reservations (which amount to more than 100,000 in total) and checked in at the airport, paying the corresponding surcharge, will receive a 15 euro snack or, failing that, a voucher worth 20 euros which can be used to purchase Ryanair services.
So, taking into account the more than 100,000 reservations, which corresponds to at least more than 100,000 consumers, the amount that the company has agreed to reimburse is around one and a half million euros.
The company is also committed to change selection methods priority options and hand baggage, in order to allow users to separately select the same service on round trips and see the different corresponding unit prices, as well as to reimburse consumers who have filed a complaint on this subject.
Finally, Ryanair has committed to modifying the website, the application and the text of the booking confirmation email toto include deadline information in which the passenger can carry out “online check-in” free of charge and on possible costs associated with the check-in process in service at the airport.
