Ryanair hit with €256 million fine by Italy’s competition authority
L’Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, AGCM) ha inflitto a Ryanair Italy’s Competition and Market Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, AGCM) has imposed a €255.7 million fine on Ryanair, ruling that the carrier engaged in anti-competitive practices aimed at hindering the ability of travel agencies and online platforms to sell its services.
The decision follows an investigation launched after complaints filed by Barcelona-based online travel agency eDreams, supported by two European organizations representing travel agents and distributors. According to the AGCM, Ryanair exploited its dominant position in the Italian market estimated at between 38% and 40% of flights to and from Italy to block or make it excessively difficult for online travel agencies (OTAs) to access its fares and resell them alongside those of other travel operators.
The authority found that the Irish low-cost carrier adopted a systematic strategy designed to prevent the bundling of Ryanair flights with additional travel services, thereby limiting consumers’ ability to compare integrated offers. In addition, Ryanair is accused of forcing several travel agents into what the AGCM described as unfair distribution agreements, significantly restricting their capacity to create travel packages combining flights, accommodation, and other tourism services.
The practices under investigation cover the period from April 2023 to April 2024 and, according to the regulator, had a substantial negative impact on competition and market dynamics in the air travel distribution sector.
Ryanair has strongly criticized the ruling, calling it “legally flawed,” and announced that it will immediately appeal the decision. The airline also accused the competition authority of failing to take into account a January 2024 ruling by a Milan court, which upheld Ryanair’s practices and described them as beneficial to consumers.
Ryanair ha contestato anche la definizione del mercato rilevante adottata dall’Autorità, sostenendo che la propria quota reale sarebbe inferiore a quella indicata nel provvedimento, in quanto sarebbero stati esclusi dal calcolo i voli di lungo raggio e altri mezzi di trasporto con cui la compagnia compete indirettamente. Il gruppo ha infine difeso il proprio schema di distribuzione Travel Agent DirectThe carrier further challenged the market definition used by the AGCM, arguing that its actual market share is lower than that cited in the ruling because long-haul flights and other modes of transport competing with Ryanair were excluded from the analysis. Ryanair also defended its Travel Agent Direct distribution scheme, stating that third-party agents are allowed to resell Ryanair tickets provided they do not apply any markup.
The fine is one of the largest ever imposed by the Italian competition authority in the aviation sector and opens a new chapter in the long-running dispute between low-cost airlines and online travel distributors. The outcome of Ryanair’s appeal could have significant implications not only for the airline itself, but for the broader European airline ticket distribution model.
