The Italian competition authority has fined Ryanair 256 million euros – around 100 billion forints – because, according to its findings, the low-cost airline abused its dominant position by unfairly directing consumers to its own sales channels. to its channels, the Financial Times reported. Ryanair immediately announced an appeal against the decision.
The regulatory investigation lasted two years and concluded that the airline systematically prevented travel agents from selling its tickets in packages with other services, such as insurance. According to the Italian authority, Ryanair used means that made it difficult, expensive or impossible for travel agents to operate, including by blocking payment solutions and mass deletion of user accounts.
The procedure was launched in 2023 after several Italian travel agents complained about the airline’s practices. The investigation found that Ryanair had partially or completely disabled ticket sales by the end of 2023, while building a dominant market position.
CEO Michael O’Leary said the Italian decision violated consumer protection and competition law principles, and the company was confident that the “erroneous and manipulated” decision would be overturned. Ryanair currently operates around 38-40 percent of European flights to or from Italy.
The decision is also noteworthy because Ryanair has recently come under the spotlight of competition authorities in several countries: in the summer of 2025, the Hungarian Competition Authority also initiated proceedings against the airline regarding its online ticket booking practices.
