EU body says no complaint made over Ryanair

The European Commission said yesterday it had not yet received a formal complaint regarding the alleged misstating of airport passenger fees by Ryanair.

"There is no specific inquiry into any particular airline," spokesman Philip Tod said. "The commission considers that EU legislation already prevents companies from misleading consumers with regard to the advertised price of services."

However, the EU executive is carrying out a study of European airline pricing policies that could potentially lead to future action to prevent airlines misleading customers over the prices they charge.

"On the basis of this study, the commission will examine whether any sector-specific rules are needed to complement the general consumer protection rules which already exist," Mr Tod said.

He said that several members of the European Parliament had raised concerns about the lack of transparency in taxes and charges relating to airfares but no inquiries were currently underway.

The pricing issue was raised yesterday by Eva Lichtenberger, an Austrian MEP, who said she would call on the commission to start an inquiry into Ryanair's alleged mislabelling of airport fees.

She made the call after watching German television programme PlusMinus, which found that Ryanair lists some airport handling charges as government taxes.

Her comments were reported in the British Daily Telegraph. The newspaper said that Ryanair had been accused of inflating charges added to ticket prices for flights from some of its airports, a practice the report said may breach EU law.

A commission spokesman said that misleading advertising was a matter for the national authorities in member states.

However, he added that the commission was currently undertaking a major review of airline pricing.

Should this review find that there was a need for legislation on an EU basis, this would be looked at, he added.

In a statement yesterday, Ryanair said the claims made on German television were "inaccurate and untrue".

No Ryanair passenger had ever been "over-charged", the statement said.

"If some MEP wants to start an inquiry, why doesn't she start with the unnecessary fuel surcharges which many flag carriers ... are charging?" the statement added.

(Additional reporting, Reuters)