Ryanair has been convicted of misleading customers on the price of its air fares.

A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday found that the low-fares airline was guilty of six breaches of the Consumer Protection Act.

The case was taken by trading standards officers who argued that Ryanair had failed to spell out the full cost of its seats.

Ryanair had denied any offence and said the prices were not misleading. It said the fact that it had not been explained that the price was advertised exclusive of tax was due to an error.

The allegations related to the cost of flights from Stansted to various European destinations.

Trading standards officers from Essex, which covers Stansted Airport, claim the cost of insurance and tax was not included in the initially advertised price on the company's website.

Reacting to the judgment yesterday, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said the breaches of the British Consumer Protection Act were committed four years ago and had been corrected for the past two years.

In a statement, the airline's head of customer care, Caroline Green, said that the court action was unnecessary. She said the action had been brought on the basis of no complaints by a member of the public.

Ms Green said the airline's website home page clearly notified consumers that prices were quoted exclusive of taxes and charges.

The jury ruled that a website advertisement promoting a "£4.99 [ €7.20] one-way flight from London Stansted to Pisa, Italy" was not misleading or illegal because it included the words "excluding tax".

Meanwhile, yesterday, Mr O'Leary said the airline had taken more than 200,000 bookings for flights on new routes opening from Shannon airport.

The airline will begin services to Barcelona, Milan and Stockholm in May.