Have you traveled with a low-cost airline and had to pay for your hand luggage? The Ministry of Consumption has acted against these actions and has opened the first disciplinary proceedings against several ‘low cost’ companies, among which are Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet and Volotea, for the collection of hand luggage carried in the cabin, that FACUA-Consumers in Action had denounced.
Specifically, it has been the General Sub-directorate for Inspection and Disciplinary Procedure of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs that has opened disciplinary proceedings against the airlines, as confirmed by FACUA, which denounced the events before different regional consumer authorities and the Ministry two years ago.
Fines between 10,001 and 1,000,000 euros
Consumption has also sued airlines for not allowing cash payments at airports and for imposing a fee on minors and dependent persons for traveling seated with their companions.
The Ministry has issued a statement in which it recalls that the infractions for which it has filed against the airlines may be suspected as serious or very serious infractions, and be penalized with fines of between 10,001 and 100,000 euros, in the case of serious ones. , and between 100,001 and 1,000,000 euros, in the case of very serious ones.
The first complaint before the ministry for the collection of hand luggage is from October 2021, specifically against Vueling. Previously, in 2018, Facua had already denounced Ryanair and Wizzair before the State Aviation Safety Agency and the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) for this reason, without any of the two organizations informing it of any type of action. . n in this regard, says the organization.
Facua assures in a statement that in March 2021 In April 2022, it opened another against Vueling for another complaint and later also filed Easyjet and aVolotea, although this year it has decided to file all these sanctioning files so that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs can that fines, according to Facu a.
