Consumer associations from 11 European countries join Spain's fight against low-cost airline hand luggage fees

The Minister for Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy, has taken part in a public hearing in Brussels at the head office of the European Consumers' Organisation in which it was announced that 16 consumer associations from 12 European Union countries, including Spain, have filed complaints against 7 low-cost airlines for charging "undue fees" on hand luggage.

As announced, this joint action is being carried out on the basis of the example of the sanctions imposed by Minister Bustinduy in Spain on five low-cost airlines for the same practices. In this case, the companies reported by these 16 associations are Ryanair, Vueling, easyJet, Norwegian Airlines, Volotea, Transavia and Wizz Air, for charging "abusive additional fares that violate European legislation and the basic rights of consumers", explains the European Consumers' Organisation.

These complaints will be submitted by the different associations to their respective national consumer authorities, demanding action at a state level: CLCV and UFC Que Choisir (France); Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (Germany); Consumentenbond (Netherlands); ASUFIN, CECU and OCU (Spain); Test Achats / Test Aankoop (Belgium); Cyprus Consumer Association (Cyprus); DECO (Portugal); dTest (Czechia); EKPIZO and KEPKA (Greece); Federacja Konsumentów (Poland); Norwegian Consumer Council (Norway); and Association for Consumer Rights (Malta).

Global reporting at European level

In addition, the European Consumers' Organisation has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission to have the EU authorities investigate abusive charges levied by these seven airlines, such as the aforementioned hand luggage fee, as well as other commercial practices that are taking place across the European Union. The organisation has also lodged this complaint with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, a mechanism that allows national consumer authorities in Member States to coordinate investigations and sanctions against illegal cross-border commercial practices.

The European Consumers' Organisation represents 44 consumer associations from 31 European countries, including Spain, and its director general, Agustín Reyna, highlighted the importance at a European level of "the pioneering work" carried out in Spain by Pablo Bustinduy through the openings he has created at the Ministry of Social Rights and Consumer Affairs to defend the rights of consumers in the airline sector. Reyna said that the sanctions imposed in Spain "have been an example and an inspiration" for organisations working to defend the rights of consumers at a European level. The head of the European Consumers' Organisation also called on the governments of the other Member States to act along the same lines as Spain to provide a joint response to these corporate abuses.

It has also been pointed out that, in addition to charging for hand luggage, the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs included in its sanctions the implementation of other abusive practices such as charging for booking seats next to minors or people in a situation of dependency, prohibiting payment in cash, charging for printing boarding cards and lack of clarity in prices.

During his intervention in this hearing, Pablo Bustinduy described the initiative at a European level as "great news" and recalled that "from the beginning we insisted that in Spain we would be the first to act against these abuses in the aviation sector, but not the only ones to protect the rights of consumers." The head of Consumer Affairs stressed that this collective action "sends a clear message: with the action of institutions and organisations, there are neither defenceless consumers nor untouchable multinationals." The minister took the opportunity to encourage people who suffer consumer affairs abuses "to assert their rights against the economic interests of large multinationals and to rely on consumer organisations."

The sanctions by the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs and the complaints by the European Consumers' Organisation are based on a 2014 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which expressly prohibits airlines from imposing additional charges for carrying hand luggage that complies with reasonable weight, dimensions and security requirements.

Non official translation