Ryanair has won its appeal against a Spanish court ruling that declared a 40 euro fee for issuing boarding passes at airport check-in illegal.
The Barcelona appeal court ruled the penalty fee lawful, reversing the finding of a Barcelona commercial court in January which had declared airlines were obliged to issue boarding cards.
Ryanair welcomed the ruling, a spokesman saying: “This ruling removes any confusion in Spain about the lawful nature of our boarding pass reissue penalty. We understand it cannot be appealed.”
He added: “This is the first of a number of bizarre lower court rulings in Barcelona which we expect will be overturned. We urge all Ryanair passengers to ensure they check in online prior to arriving at their airport.”
The judge in the original case, brought by a lawyer, declared “unfair and void . . . the contractual clause in which Ryanair obliges the passenger to . . . bring a printed boarding pass or face a penalty of 40 euros”.
Ryanair appealed on the grounds that passengers agree when they book to check-in online and print their own boarding card. Its lawyers argued passengers failing to do so had breached that agreement and were not entitled to fly.
The carrier refers to the fee as a “reissue” fee, but it applies to all passengers who check in at airports. Ryanair charges a 6 euro or £6 fee for online check in. The airline said less than 1% of passengers pay the boarding card penalty “which applies only where passengers fail to comply with their agreement that they will check in online”.
However, it carried 76.8 million passengers in the 12 months to September, meaning if just 0.5% of passengers pay the fee it brings Ryanair in excess of 15 million euros a year in “penalty fees”.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary greeted the ruling by announcing he is pushing Boeing to remove two of the three toilets on the Boeing 737s the Irish airline buys, to allow room for more seats.