EU asked to ban airline add-on fees
Airlines could be banned by the European Commission from charging passengers extra to check-in online, carry luggage and pay by credit card.
The commission’s vice-president and transport chief Siim Kallas has been asked to prevent airlines from slapping customers with additional fees since Ryanair introduced its latest cheeky charge – a $2 per passenger fee to cover ash cloud compensation.
Ryanair paid out £88m to passengers left stranded during the ash cloud crisis, but according to a report in The Mirror it will earn £150m from the fee.
The paper says Labour Euro MP and chairman of the EU transport committee Brian Simpson has written to Kallas, who is leading a review of air passenger rights, asking for additional charges like these to be banned.
Simpson is calling for a "one flight, one price" approach so that passengers pay the advertised fare and no more. He wants airlines to be blocked from adding additional charges on top of the headline price.
Ryanair claimed its new fee for passenger compensation is included in all its advertised fares.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
Suspension of all regional trains in Catalonia following two new rail accidents in Spain