Official: Court rules Ryanair doesn’t have to pay gigantic fine in Hungary

On 23 January 2024, the Curia of Hungary decided in a review procedure in the case between the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair and the Budapest City Government Office as the consumer protection authority.

According to the facts of the case, the airline informed passengers that Hungary introduced a new air traffic tax (“departure tax”) on 4 June 2022, which it will pass on to passengers under the General Terms and Conditions (GTC). The new tax was set at HUF 3900 (EUR 10) per passenger. Passengers may have also decided to cancel their reservation, in which case they will received a full refund.

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The consumer protection authority imposed a fine of HUF 300 million (EUR 774,000) on the airline. In addition to the fine, it ordered Ryanair to refrain from unfair commercial practices when providing information to consumers. It also ordered the airline to notify the authority of the measures taken to eliminate the misleading information discovered in the course of the procedure within 15 days of the decision becoming final.

Ryanair then appealed against the respondent’s decision to the court. The Metropolitan Court of Budapest annulled the respondent’s decision, Budflyer reports, as the legal position of the Metropolitan Government Office was deemed incorrect.