A Belgian court has ordered the Irish airline Ryanair to cease several commercial practices deemed “illegal” within three months or face financial penalties.
The targeted practices include pressuring customers to book quickly by suggesting flights are nearly full, as well as pushing bundled options—covering seat selection, baggage, and other services–—without clearly disclosing the price of each component.
The consumer protection organisation Testachats had singled out almost a dozen practices on Ryanair’s website and mobile app that it considered
misleading, aggressive, or unfair.
In its ruling issued on January 28, the court determined four of those practices were illegal, primarily due to issues with price transparency.
The low-cost carrier was ordered to halt the offending practices within three months of being served the judgment, or face a penalty of €5,000 ($5,900) per violation per day, the text states. Critics of the case predict rising ticket prices and regulatory ‘mission creep’ from Brussels.
