Italy Fines Ryanair 256 Million Euros Over Agency Restrictions

Italy's competition authority has fined low-cost airline Ryanair 256 million euros for using practices that hindered third-party travel agencies from accessing and combining its flights with other services. The Italian Competition Authority, known as AGCM, announced the penalty on Tuesday following an investigation into the carrier's conduct from April 2023 to at least April of this year.

The regulator determined that Ryanair employed an elaborate strategy to block, complicate or increase the cost of purchasing its flights through ryanair.com, particularly when agencies sought to bundle them with flights from other airlines or additional tourism and insurance offerings. According to the AGCM, this approach affected both online and traditional travel agencies, reducing competition among them and limiting consumers' options for integrated travel packages. The authority highlighted specific tactics, including the introduction of facial recognition procedures, blocking payments from online travel agencies and requiring partnership agreements that restricted agents' ability to include Ryanair flights in broader itineraries.

The AGCM emphasized Ryanair's dominant market position in...