Consumer fine on budget airlines mobilizes travelers and opens door to summer of wrongful payment lawsuits

The image is often repeated at airports. Retired passengers who need to pay an additional fee to travel with carry-on baggage, to print a boarding pass at the airport, or to sit next to a dependent. And for now, despite the 150 million euro sanction that the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and the 2030 Agenda imposed last week Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling and Volotea for considering such actions to be abusive, This pattern looks set to continue to emerge at Spanish airports this summer as the fine is not final and airlines claim the measure “attacks tariff freedom” and “consumer choice.”

But while airlines are currently not required to pay the fine and continue to charge for carry-on luggage, the ministry’s sanction is “no less important” as it served as a wake-up call for low-cost companies to mobilize consumers, explains from Facua-Consumers in Action. “The fine has caused a stir in the aviation sector, caused a huge outcry, and it is already having a clear effect. And if, for example, the fine ultimately remained at 30 million, thousands of consumers will be able to get their money back because we assume that this practice is illegal, as stated by the Court of Justice of the European Union in a 2014 ruling,” he says. Infobae Spain Secretary General of Faqua Ruben Sánchez. The decree establishes that hand luggage is an “essential item” for passengers and, therefore, cannot be subject to additional charges.

For this reason, Sanchez believes that 2024 will be the summer when there will be a lot of complaints from travelers. It will also now be easier for them to claim improper charges for carry-on luggage as Facua this week launched a platform for victims to join from its website. They point out that the money can be returned “through a lawsuit in the court of first instance, which alleges the illegality of the collection by the airlines.”

“These are individual lawsuits, not a class action, because We suggest that it doesn’t cost anyone any money and that the process is faster. That is, if you have already filed a complaint, you can go to court to send it to the appropriate trial court, and they will require a response from the airline and then evaluate whether a hearing took place or not. If the airline does not request a review, the judge can pass a sentence directly“, Sanchez clarifies, indicating that on the platform they will inform victims about how the problem is developing.

Faqua assures that if thousands of consumers fight in court “for free” because they are not required to see a lawyer or lawyer, “the sector may be forced, once consumer-friendly decisions are made and publicly outdone, to stamp out the practice and stop charging extra fees “

Likewise, Facua will file new complaints with regional consumer protection authorities demanding a financial penalty for any employee found guilty of such violations. “The point is that every autonomous community finds itself in a situation where it has to fine every airline after a specific complaint from a consumer, and we are going to demand fines of thousands of euros per violation by applying an offensive clause to the consumer. says Sanchez.

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On Wednesday, the organization also reported that Ryanair’s consumer fine for carry-on baggage surcharges and other violations exceeds one hundred million euros. the highest sanction imposed to date by the competent authorities of the Ministry.

The highest fine so far was $6.23 million, which the Andalusian government imposed on Movistar in 2016 for raising rates on Fusion packages, which it launched on the market with the promise that it would support them “forever” and that The Superior Court Andalusia (TSJA) has reduced it to 1.53 million, the organization said. This cut led to a $3.15 million sanction imposed in 2017 by the Junta of Andalusia on Unicaja for its minimum mortgage provision.