Laurence Dollimore
RYANAIR must pay at least €1.5million in compensation following an investigation by authorities in Italy.
The Italian Competition and Market Authority found that countless consumers were charged additional costs for not checking in online within the set deadline.
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The Italian agency determined that the check-in information provided by Ryanair could have been misleading.
It believes the budget carrier did not adequately inform passengers of when the online check-in service ended, nor of the associated fee that came with missing the deadline.
In addition, when booking a return ticket, if the customer had selected priority boarding and extra hand luggage, this was automatically added to the outbound journey as well.
According to the Italian Competition Authority, Ryanair agreed to reimburse the total cost of airport check-in (€55), to all consumers who made a claim between 2021 and 2023.
In addition, all consumers who booked flights in the same period and checked in at the airport will receive ‘a €15 snack’ or a ‘voucher worth €20’ for Ryanair services.
The number of users who will benefit from this agreement is close to 100,000, which raises the amount that the company must allocate to at least €1.5million, reports Spanish trade union Facua.
The airline has also committed to letting passengers choose priority boarding separately for outbound and return journeys.
It also said it will modify its website, app and the text of confirmation emails to make it clearer when check-in can be done for free, and the fee for missing the deadline.
