THECompetition and market authority (Agcm) has closed the investigation towards Ryanair DAC, accepting the airline's commitments refund over 1,5 million euros to consumers who have supported extra costs for check-in at the airport. The investigation had been started to verify alleged unfair business practices, in violation of Articles 21 and 22 of the Consumer Code. The conditions applied by Ryanair to online check-in were, in fact, misleading and unclear, leading several consumers to incur unexpected costs.
The investigation and the objections of the Antitrust
The Antitrust investigation focused on inadequate information provided by Ryanair on the conditions of use of the online check-in service. Consumers were not correctly informed about the time window for checking in free of charge and, as a result, risked having to pay extra costs in case of failure to check-in online within the indicated deadline.
A further objection concerned the automatic selection of the“priority and hand luggage” option, applied to both routes (outward and return) at the time of booking, without the possibility for the user to choose individually for each trip.
Ryanair's commitment to refund travellers
In response to the complaints, Ryanair has proposed a series of commitments to resolve the issue and restore consumer confidence. Among these, the Full refund of the check-in fee at the airport, equal to 55 euros for customers who, between 2021 and 2023, had filed a complaint for not knowing the conditions of online check-in.
Furthermore, for all consumers who, in the same period, completed bookings with an airport check-in, paying the supplement, Ryanair has provided a compensation of 15 euros or, alternatively, a 20 euro voucher that can be used for purchases on the company's website.
Ryanair: Check-in and priority options change
The Irish company then committed to changing the booking system, so as to allow the separate selection of the “priority and hand luggage” option for return journeys, with the unit cost displayed for each individual trip.
To avoid further misunderstandings, Ryanair will improve your website, app and email texts of booking confirmation, including clear details on the time window to check in online for free and on the costs incurred if you check in at the airport.
