Laurence Dollimore
RYANAIR has been ordered to refund a passenger who was charged an extra fee for printing his boarding pass at an airport in Spain.
The ruling came from Palma’s Commercial Court in Mallorca, which told the budget airline to pay the plaintiff €30.45 plus court costs.
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Court documents explain how Ryanair warns its customers that they will be charged for printing their boarding pass at an airport desk.
It repeatedly urges them to check-in online and to either print off their boarding pass at home, or arrive with it digitally on their phone or tablet device.
However in this case, the passenger was unable to do so due to ‘special circumstances’.
Due to internet issues, the man was unable to validate his status as a resident of the Balearic Islands online – which gave him a 75% discount on his ticket price.
“In that case, the only option the passenger had to obtain the boarding pass online would have been to waive the 75% discount for his status as a Balearic resident,” the ruling states.
The man was therefore forced to check-in at the airport counter, where he could show his Balearic ID.
However he was still charged €30.45 for printing off the boarding pass.
After hearing his case, the Commercial Court number 3 of Palma de Mallorca forced Ryanair to return the amount charged.
The plaintiff was defended by Valencian lawyer Victor Soriano i Piqueras.
