Belgian Court Orders Ryanair to Revise Marketing

A Belgian court has ordered Ryanair to halt certain marketing and commercial practices in Belgium, while upholding key elements of the airline’s ancillary revenue model, including fees for cabin baggage and seat selection.

In a January 28 ruling, the Brussels Commercial Court found that some of Ryanair’s advertising tactics were misleading. The court instructed the carrier to stop promoting discounts based on inaccurate reference prices, creating false urgency by implying that low fares were nearly sold out, and failing to clearly disclose luggage fees for both legs of a round-trip booking.

The decision partially upheld complaints filed by Belgian consumer association Testachats, supported by Euroconsumers, which had initiated cease-and-desist proceedings in May 2025. The group alleged that aspects of Ryanair’s online booking process violated consumer protection rules.

However, the court rejected several other claims. It ruled that charging for larger cabin bags, applying demand-based pricing, imposing paid seat selection fees and requiring parents to pay to reserve seats next to children do not breach European Union law. The judgment effectively confirms that these core components of Ryanair’s low-cost model comply with current EU regulations.

Ryanair welcomed the ruling, emphasizing that its cabin baggage policy aligns with EU rules and case law. The airline also noted that the court determined Testachats does not hold the required EU “qualified entity” status to pursue certain cross-border representative actions.

If Ryanair fails to comply with the order to cease the prohibited practices, it could face a penalty of EUR5,000 per day.

The ruling comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny across Europe of airline pricing transparency and digital sales tactics. In late 2025, Italy’s competition authority fined Ryanair and its parent company over access restrictions for travel agents. Spain has also penalized multiple budget carriers for charging additional fees for larger cabin bags.

As European lawmakers review passenger rights regulations, including proposals to mandate a 7kg cabin bag in the base fare and free adjacent seating for minors with accompanying adults, the outcome of such debates could further reshape the low-cost airline model across the EU.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com