{"id":175520,"date":"2025-10-09T12:11:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T12:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/spain-wanted-ryanair-to-pay-107-million-euros-now-europe-is-responding-by-opening-a-sanctioning-file-against-spain\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T12:11:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T12:11:04","slug":"spain-wanted-ryanair-to-pay-107-million-euros-now-europe-is-responding-by-opening-a-sanctioning-file-against-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/spain-wanted-ryanair-to-pay-107-million-euros-now-europe-is-responding-by-opening-a-sanctioning-file-against-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain wanted Ryanair to pay 107 million euros. Now Europe is responding by opening a sanctioning file against Spain."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a groundbreaking development for the airline industry, the \u00a0European Commission\u00a0 has delivered a significant blow to Spain’s regulations concerning air travel. On \u00a0October 8\u00a0, the Commission issued a statement asserting that Spain’s \u00a0Air Navigation Law\u00a0 restricts airlines’ ability to charge for carry-on luggage, thereby impeding their pricing freedom. This ruling not only affects the ongoing dispute between Spain and \u00a0Ryanair\u00a0 but also raises broader questions about \u00a0consumer rights\u00a0 and the future of fare structures in Europe.<\/p>\n

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The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, made its position clear in a recent public statement<\/a>. It announced that it had opened a sanctioning procedure against Spain due to its restrictions on airlines charging for carry-on baggage. This move is unprecedented, as Spain had already imposed penalties on several airlines, amassing close to \u00a0\u20ac180 million\u00a0 in fines, with Ryanair being the hardest hit, fined over \u00a0\u20ac107 million\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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According to the Commission, these sanctions violate \u00a0EU regulations\u00a0. As stated in their communication: <\/p>\n

“Spain’s National Air Navigation Law does not allow airlines to subject the carriage of carry-on baggage to an additional charge, restricting the freedom of airlines to set prices and differentiate between a service that includes the right to a larger carry-on baggage allowance, and a service that does not offer that possibility.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In simpler terms, the Commission argues that airlines in Spain should be free to charge for any luggage beyond the minimum size that must be carried without additional fees. Spain\u2019s stance, it contends, is in direct conflict with the broader European market principles.<\/p>\n

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But what constitutes \u201c\u00a0reasonable\u00a0\u201d hand luggage? The European Commission observed that companies like Ryanair meet certain size requirements, which were recently adjusted from \u00a040 x 25 x 20 cm\u00a0 to \u00a040 x 30 x 20 cm\u00a0. Conversely, Spain argues that these dimensions limit passengers’ ability to carry essential belongings, undermining the idea of “reasonable” luggage size.<\/p>\n

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This legal battle has led to split decisions in Spanish courts. In \u00a0Seville\u00a0, one court ruled in favor of Ryanair, while in \u00a0Salamanca\u00a0, another favored consumers who faced unexpected charges for carry-on items. This inconsistent legal landscape complicates enforcement and compliance within Spain\u2019s airline market.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Ryanair\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Given these complexities, the European Commission\u2019s decision is viewed as a setback for Spain. The European Union\u2019s Transport Commissioner, \u00a0Apostolos Tzitzikostas\u00a0, met with the CEO of Ryanair just prior to this announcement, signaling a potential shift in support toward the airline’s position against Spanish laws.<\/p>\n

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Spanish officials, including Minister of Consumer Affairs \u00a0Pablo Bustinduy\u00a0, have expressed concern over the Commission\u2019s ruling, stating it favors airline interests over consumer rights. Bustinduy remarked, “The charge for hand luggage represents a conflict between the interests of the large airline industry and the rights of consumers. Unfortunately, today the Commission has decided to position itself on the side of the interests of the multinationals,” as reported by The Country<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n \"Ryanair\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As Ryanair and other low-cost carriers continue to advocate for greater flexibility in defining hand luggage dimensions, the EU is also exploring \u00a0minimum measures\u00a0 for carry-on items. Initial proposals closely align with Ryanair’s existing policies, suggesting that the airline’s interests are being prioritized in EU-level discussions.<\/p>\n

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Moving forward, the European Commission has granted Spain a two-month window to align its laws with EU regulations or provide a compelling defense for its current practices. Failure to comply could result in the case being escalated to the \u00a0Court of Justice of the European Union\u00a0.<\/p>\n

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This ongoing controversy highlights a critical intersection of \u00a0consumer rights\u00a0, airline profits, and regulatory frameworks within the European market. As the situation unfolds, the decisions made in the coming weeks will likely shape the future dynamics of air travel not just in Spain but across Europe.<\/p>\n

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Photo credits: Niklas Jonasson<\/a> and Andrijana Bozic<\/a><\/p>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a groundbreaking development for the airline industry, the \u00a0European Commission\u00a0 has delivered a significant blow to Spain’s regulations concerning air travel. On \u00a0October 8\u00a0, the Commission issued a statement asserting that Spain’s \u00a0Air Navigation Law\u00a0 restricts airlines’ ability to charge for carry-on luggage, thereby impeding their pricing freedom. This ruling not only affects the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[1147,4849,21866,679,4545,1345,6496,37217,43421,1694,893],"class_list":["post-175520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-europe","tag-euros","tag-file","tag-million","tag-opening","tag-pay","tag-responding","tag-ryanair","tag-sanctioning","tag-spain","tag-wanted"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}