A Palma court has upheld an exemplary financial penalty imposed by the Balearic Govern on the airline Ryanair for failing to respect consumer rights. A fine of 24,000 euros was imposed on the Irish-based company because it refused to refund the cost or change the date of travel of a ticket purchased by a Palma resident who intended to travel from Lanzarote to the Balearic Islands. He was unable to use this ticket due to the illness of a member of the travelling party, a reason of force majeure. The company, applying its own rules, refused to comply with the traveller’s request.
Ryanair is the airline with the highest number of complaints filed with the Directorate General for Consumer Affairs, which is part of the Regional Ministry of Health. This customer’s complaint led to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings, which culminated in a proposed fine of 24,000 euros. The airline company appealed to the courts to have the fine declared null and void. It appealed on the grounds that the company applied Irish law, given that the company’s management is based in Ireland. The airline’s decision was therefore based on Irish law.
However, the judge in Palma who has ratified this financial penalty rejects Ryanair’s legal arguments, to the extent of saying that the clauses imposed by the company on its customers are abusive and, therefore, null and void. Thus, the judge maintains that domestic law must be applied to resolve these disputes involving this air transport company. In the same vein, the judge notes in the ruling that it was a flight through Spanish airspace, so it would make no sense to apply Irish law to resolve the claim, regardless of whether the company is domiciled in that country.
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