Ryanair loses appeal against Italian ban on fees hitting people accompanying children

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(Reuters) -Ryanair has lost its appeal against a ban on airlines charging extra fees for seat reservations when travellers need to sit next to children under 12 or people with disabilities, Italy’s Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) said on Monday.

The Irish carrier challenged the ban after ENAC introduced it in 2021. The company lost a first appeal in 2022, in a ruling that has now been upheld by the Council of State, Italy’s top administrative court, ENAC said.

Ryanair normally charges more to people who want to choose their seat on the plane – something they might do if they wanted to make certain they were sitting next to another specific passenger.

According to the airline’s website, the surcharge for such a seating arrangement on a one-way flight within Italy can vary from 22 euros to 30 euros ($24.58-$33.52).

ENAC said this surcharge should not apply to people accompanying passengers who cannot travel alone, such as young children and people with disabilities.

The Council of State agreed, with ENAC quoting its ruling as saying that “the need for proximity of the seats between minor and accompanying person is clearly connected with the safety obligation” that falls upon airlines and which cannot be linked to extra costs.

Ryanair told Reuters the ruling “does not require any change” to its current seating policy, and stressed that the company “does not charge any fee for children under 12 travelling with an adult.”

At an earlier stage in the proceedings in 2021, Ryanair said the way ENAC had characterised the situation was “misleading”.

A spokesperson said at the time the airline had brought in temporary adjustments to “ensure adult passengers accompanying minors or special needs passengers have several options to avail (themselves) of free allocated seating”.

($1 = 0.8950 euros)

(Reporting by Alberto Chiumento, additional reporting by Gavin Jones, editing by Alvise Armellini and Andrew Heavens)