December 2, 2024, 6:11 am | Read time: 2 minutes
It’s a success for consumer protection: following investigations by the Italian competition authority AGCM, Ryanair is giving in – and paying back money to over 100,000 customers who had complained about allegedly unfair additional costs. TRAVELBOOK shows what the case is all about.
Missed the deadline for online check-in? No problem, just make up for it at the airport counter. But for many Italian Ryanair customers, this was sometimes associated with a nasty surprise in the form of hefty additional costs.
Overview
Nasty Surprise for Ryanair Customers at the Counter
As reported by “Reuters“, among others, customers had to pay a hefty surcharge of around 55 euros for missing check-in before arriving at the airport. It is reasonable to assume that these costs were actually foisted on them. After all, more than 100,000 customers who were affected by the fee between 2021 and 2023 filed a complaint.
Also interesting: TV documentary uncovers terrible working conditions at Ryanair
Competition Authority Investigates Additional Costs at Ryanair
According to reports, this led to the Italian competition authority AGCM, also known as “Antitrust”, launching an investigation. According to Reuters, it has now come to the conclusion that the charging of these fees was unlawful. It was not communicated clearly enough to customers that the 55 euro fee would be due in the event of a missed online check-in. The AGCM also criticized the fact that Ryanair automatically applied and charged additional services booked for the outbound flight to the return flight.
Ryanair Gives in
Ryanair has now reacted to the results of the investigation. It announced a full refund of check-in fees to all customers who had submitted a complaint. In addition, the airline would refund 15 euros or 20 euros in voucher value to all customers who were affected by the additional fee during the period under investigation and would highlight the information on any additional costs more clearly. The total amount involved is 1.5 million euros.
According to reports, the Italian consumer association welcomed this step but also criticized the fact that the AGCM had not imposed a fine on Ryanair.
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Check-in at Ryanair Soon Only Possible Digitally
From 2025, it should no longer be possible for customers to fall for Ryanair’s absurd cost trap. The low-cost airline is planning to abolish all check-in desks by May 1 next year and switch the entire process to a mandatory smartphone app. All tickets, gate information, and delays will then only be available digitally via the app. The aim of this measure is to reduce the need for airport staff and cut costs even further.