Euroconsumers and its member Testachats/Testaankoop are launching an injunction against Ryanair for its misleading and unfair commercial practices which they say violate EU and Belgian consumer protection laws, and demand swift action to put things right. 

Anyone who has booked on Ryanair or other low cost airlines will be familiar with the tactics used but may not know many of them breach well established consumer law and passenger rights. 

This blog looks at each area of complaint in more detail and recaps Euroconsumers ongoing fight for fair, transparent and affordable travel for consumers.

How Ryanair is breaking the law through deceptive pricing and false claims

Limited price information and bait pricing 

Limited prices on display: when people search for a flight on a particular date, Ryanair presents the lowest priced flight available that day – even when there are multiple flights available at different prices. The information suggests that there’s a fixed price for one day which is not the case. This practice contravenes the Belgian Code of Economic Law (BCEL) which prohibits misleading commercial practices that deceive consumers regarding pricing. 

‘Bait pricing’ or ‘drip pricing’ is banned under EU Regulations on the operation of air services and Belgian law.  However, Ryanair continues to display an initial price as ‘bait’ for consumers, but as the booking progresses, optional fees are revealed. It delays disclosure of essential pricing information, distorts consumer’s price perceptions, and stops effective price comparison and competition between airlines. 

Unlawful baggage fees

Charging for bringing reasonable luggage: the CJEU has ruled that reasonable hand luggage is a “necessary aspect of the carriage of passengers” which therefore cannot attract a price supplement. However, Ryanair’s basic fare excludes carry-on baggage of a reasonable size and weight so passengers must pay for it, in direct opposition to the CJEU judgement. 

If checked-in baggage fees vary between outward and return flights, consumers will only see the lower fee on display by default, and both prices are automatically added at checkout. These hidden baggage fees are classed as a misleading omission and run contrary to EU and Belgian regulations.   

Default bundling of extra options

Ryanair’s booking process creates the false impression that it does not allow passengers travelling together to select different options – so for example, a family of four would all have to opt for the same luggage allowance. They also lump together extras like lounge access, extra legroom seats and extra baggage, and seem to give no options for consumers to opt out of parts of the bundle. 

In fact, as consumers find out later on in the checkout process, cheaper options for unbundled extras like luggage are offered – and if they have been misled into paying for the higher cost bundle their only option is to cancel and restart the booking and hope that their flights haven’t gone up in price. This practice violates Belgian law by  misleading consumers about the true price of the products.

False claims and pressure selling

Ryanair falsely claims that certain tickets are only available for a limited amount of time to pressure consumers into making immediate purchases.

For example, Euroconsumers and Testachats found that Ryanair displayed a flight from Brussels to Barcelona on 22 March 2025 for 35.86 EUR and flagged that there were only three seats left at that price. 

But, a search made just twenty-three minutes later found the exact same flight on sale at 19.99 EUR with no mention of limited seat availability. Such deceptive practices are explicitly prohibited by BCEL and it’s obvious why – price displays that create false scarcity put pressure on consumers to buy quickly, with no opportunity to think about the purchase or compare prices with other airlines, at the risk of missing out on what is presented as a good deal.

Euroconsumers priorities for an empowered travel market

Euroconsumers and Testachats’ action against Ryanair follows many other complaints and cases brought against the latter and other airlines by our members in our united fight to make travel fair, transparent and affordable for consumers.

Last year, after a complaint made by our Spanish member OCU, Ryanair, EasyJet, Vueling, Norwegian, and Volotea were handed a massive €179 million fine for their unfair practices. OCU also launched a legal action to get full compensation for Spanish consumers delayed by staff strikes after Ryanair tried to avoid its legal responsibility to do so.

Euroconsumers’ members were also part of a European-wide consumer complaint in 2023 against 17 European airlines for misleading climate-related claims that were in breach of EU rules on unfair commercial practices.

What’s next?

Right now, Euroconsumers and Testachats request to Ryanair is simple – change your practices to be compliant with the law by: 

1. ensuring full price transparency with all optional fees disclosed at the beginning of the booking process
2. including reasonable hand luggage in the basic fare
3. removing false claims regarding limited availability

These are the basics that consumers expect and the law demands.

Watch our explanatory video as well here.