Antitrust crackdown on RyanairThe Competition Authority has imposed a fine on Ryanair Holdings plc, a fine of 255,76 million euros for abuse of dominant positionAccording to the Antitrust, the Irish company would have implemented, between April 2023 and at least April 2025, a systematic strategy aimed at hinder the activity of travel agencies, online and traditional, which use Ryanair flights as an essential component of their package holiday offerings.
An conduct considered particularly reaction why post in place by an operator which, in the market for national and European connections to and from Italy, holds a position of strength that is difficult to dispute, with shares of between 38 and 40% of passengers carried and a clear, difficult-to-recover advantage over its main competitors. The practices adopted, according to the Antitrust Authority, have ended up squeeze the competition e reduce the choice possibilities for the market and for consumers.
The heart of the accusation: travel agencies were hindered
At the end of acomplex investigation lasting over two years, the Authority has reconstructed a complex strategy with which Ryanair would have made increasingly difficult, expensive or even impossible for the agencies buy tickets on the site of the company, especially when these were combined with flights of other carriers or with tourist and insurance services. For the Antitrust, this is an exclusionary abuse, able to to compress competition in the market downstream of tourism services, limiting the operational freedom of intermediaries and, consequently, reducing the options available to consumers.
From technical restrictions to imposed agreements
The story takes shape already at the end of 2022, when Ryanair begins evaluating countermeasures against agencies Online travel. Starting in spring 2023, these options will become operational: first with the introduction of facial recognition procedures for passengers who purchased their tickets through an agency, then with the total or intermittent blocking of bookings made by online agencies, through payment freezes or mass account cancellations.
A new arrival is coming at the beginning of 2024 further turn of the screw, with the imposition of partnership agreements on online agencies and the Travel Agent Direct program on physical agencies, accompanied – according to the Authority – by strong commercial pressure and aggressive communication campaigns against travel agencies that refused to join, branding them as “pirates”.
The effects on the market and the turning point of 2025
Only in April 2025 Ryanair made available agencies more advanced technological tools, such as API integration and the iFrame whitelabel solution, which the Antitrust considers potentially suitable to restore fairer conditions of competition. Until then, however, the conduct identified would have materially impacted the agencies' ability to operate, penalizing their sales and online traffic acquisition.
The result, according to the Authority, was a less contestable market, resulting in a reduction in the quality and variety of tourism services offered to end consumers. This conclusion explains the severity of the fine and reopens the debate on the role of large platforms and dominant carriers in the European tourism sector.
Ryanair's response: "The decision is unfounded, and we will appeal."
Ryanair's response was not long in comingThe company announced that it has already instructed its lawyers to challenge both the Antitrust ruling and the 256 million euro fine, which was defined “unfair and unfounded”In a note, the Irish carrier speaks of a decision that would be placed in the open in contrast with the ruling of the Milan Court of January 2024, which recognized that Ryanair's direct distribution model benefits consumers and allows for competitive fares.
According to the company, the AGCM's provision would end up ignore and reverse that setting, artificially redefining the period following the Court's ruling and falsely claiming the existence of a dominant position in air services to and from Italy. This argument, Ryanair assures, will be dismantled on appeal.
The company also asserts the legitimacy of the current distribution agreements, arguing that they guarantee price transparency and the constant availability of the lowest fares on the ryanair.com website. Ryanair emphasizes that it has defended the direct booking model for years precisely to protect consumers, avoiding surcharges and unclear practices. Finally, the note includes a attack against some online agencies and a part of the traditional sector, accused of having put pressure on the Authority: pressure that, according to the company, led to a "legally unfounded" decision, destined to be overturned in the next stages of the judgment.
Last update 14,11am
