Italy Fines Ryanair €256m for Limiting Online Travel Agency Ticket Sales
Italy's competition authority has fined Ryanair €256 million for abusing its dominant market position by limiting ticket sales through online travel agencies (OTAs). The ruling covers Ryanair's conduct from April 2023 to at least April 2025.
The authority found that Ryanair employed an elaborate strategy of technical obstacles to deter OTAs from selling tickets and to push sales through its own website, ryanair.com. Measures included blocking OTAs from selling tickets that combined Ryanair flights with other carriers, preventing bookings and payments through these agencies, enforcing facial-recognition checks on third-party purchases, and forcing agencies to sign partnership agreements that restricted their sales activities.
The regulator stated that these actions weakened competition in the market and made it more difficult for consumers to purchase tickets when combining Ryanair flights with other carriers or services. Despite the majority of sales already being conducted through Ryanair's website, these restrictions further limited alternatives.
Ryanair will appeal the ruling. CEO Michael O’Leary criticized the decision, calling it an affront to consumer protection and competition law, and argued that their direct distribution model enabled the airline to offer lower fares.
This decision comes as Ryanair recently reached a record valuation of €31 billion, becoming the world's second-most valuable airline behind Delta Air Lines. O’Leary has announced plans to hand over control to a successor within 5 to 10 years and stands to receive €111 million in shares if he remains until 2028.
