Air carriers are considered to have used "unfair methods" such as charging for hand luggage, charging passengers to reserve adjacent seats for children and other relatives, and not accepting cash when selling tickets at airports, according to Spain's Department of Consumer Rights.
The fines also apply to misleading information and lack of price transparency, "which prevents consumers from comparing offers" and making well-grounded decisions.
Irish Ryanair, which was the first to charge extra for hand luggage in November 2018, receives the largest fine, amounting to 107.8 million euros. The airline is specifically fined for charging passengers an "unproportionate amount" to print out their boarding cards at airports when they did not have them with them.
Easyjet, Volotea, and Vueling are also fined.
