Ryanair has been fined nearly €256 million by Italy’s antitrust watchdog for allegedly using an “abusive strategy” to thwart customers who booked through travel agencies.
The Rome-based competition authority said Europe’s most popular airline imposed barriers such as additional facial verification on those passengers, blocked certain agency bookings by disabling payments and deleting accounts, and repeatedly disrupted sales.
Ryanair also pressured agencies into restrictive contracts, stymied bundling with other services, and publicly attacked non-partners, the Italian watchdog added. The alleged behaviour lasted from April 2023 until at least April 2025, it said.
The company vowed to appeal, calling the decision “bizarre” and “unsound.” The company added that the competition regulator’s claim that it has a dominant position in air services to and from Italy “will be overturned.”
The relationship with Dublin-based Ryanair and Italian authorities has been strained in recent years. Tensions mounted in the summer of 2023, when the government issued a decree capping tickets for domestic airline tickets to Italian island destinations.
Over the same period, the country’s watchdog started investigating Ryanair’s alleged dominant positions in services for tourists, including car rentals and hotel bookings.
Online travel agency group, eu travel tech, welcomed the Italian fine, saying Ryanair’s practices “pursued one single goal: preventing consumers from easily comparing and combining travel options on online platforms.”
It’s not the first time the company has been embroiled in spats linked to travel agencies. In 2024, it reached an accord with online firm On the Beach Group, after the package holiday provider sued in 2021, accusing it of anti-competitive behaviour.
(With additional reporting from Jennifer Duggan and Samuel Stolton)
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