Yzabelle Bostyn
BUDGET airline CEO Michael O’Leary has stoked a row with a Spanish minister after dressing his likeness up as a clown to protest ‘historic’ fines against five airlines.
Michael O’Leary has taken to social media to pressure the government to rescind a €179 million fine against Ryanair.
The fines had been handed down to five budget airlines for charging customers to carry hand luggage, print tickets and reserve seats.
Those fined included the Irish business, EasyJet, Vueling, Volotea and Norwegian.
O’Leary dressed up a cardboard cut out of Spain’s Minister of Consumer Affairs Pablo Bustinduy as a clown, saying: “€179M illegal bag fines will increase Spanish fares, which Ryanair cut by 8% in 2024.”
The CEO flew to Madrid today for the press conference, in which he announced 179,000 €19.99 tickets will go on sale within the next three days.
He posed with the clowns while holding up a sign reading: “Get crazy prices (before this clown pushes prices up!)”
O’Leary reportedly posed with a ‘I love rising prices’ poster and referred to the minister as a ‘crazy idiot’ multiple times.
The airline claims the fine goes against EU Regulation 1008/2008, which states airlines are ‘free to set the price of their EU air services.’
According to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, the European Commission has asked the Spanish Government for more information to determine whether the fine is justified.
Ryanair also referred to a European Court of Justice ruling from 2014, in which the judge ruled Vueling had the right to decide their prices, including baggage.
However, the ruling also stated customers should not be charged for hand luggage, without specifying the dimensions.
Bustinduy claims charging for seats and hang luggage is a ‘very serious’ infraction of Article 97 of Spanish Air Navigation law and will put sanctions worth six to eight times more than the profit gained by the airlines.
As each of the companies mentioned earn different amounts from these practices, they will be subject to different proportions of fine.
Ryanair, a top earner, is faced with paying around 60%, or €107 million.
Spanish law states airlines must ‘transport hand luggage for free’, but this could be usurped by EU law.
It is also thought the airlines may benefit from safety rules linked to the ‘weight and size’ of hand luggage.
