Antitrust: Ryanair fined over £255 million for abuse of dominant position

Milan, 23 December (LaPresse) – The Italian Competition and Market Authority has imposed a fine of €255,761,692 on Ryanair DAC, jointly and severally with its parent company Ryanair Holdings plc, for abuse of a dominant position from April 2023 to at least April 2025. Ryanair holds a dominant position in the upstream market for domestic and European scheduled passenger air transport services to/from Italy, as input for online (OTA) and physical travel agencies. Its dominant position derives not only from its significant and growing market share (38-40% of passengers carried on all routes to/from Italy) but also from numerous other indicators. All these indicators contribute to giving Ryanair significant market power and the ability to act independently of competitors and consumers, also considering the significant gap in performance compared to its main competitors. At the end of a detailed investigation, the Authority found that Ryanair had implemented a complex strategy to block, hinder or make it more difficult and/or economically or technically burdensome for travel agencies, both online and physical, in combination with flights from other carriers and/or other tourism and insurance services.