Italy’s Top Court Upholds Ban on Ryanair’s Additional Fees for Accompanying Minors and Disabled

Ryanair has lost its appeal against an Italian regulation prohibiting airlines from imposing extra charges for seat reservations when accompanying children under 12 or people with disabilities. Italy’s top administrative court, the Council of State, upheld the ruling originally enforced by the Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) in 2021.

The Irish airline initially challenged the regulation after its introduction but failed to overturn it in both their first appeal in 2022 and the recent judgment. Ryanair typically adds a fee for passengers choosing their seats to ensure they sit next to specific travelers. The surcharge for such seating on one-way flights within Italy ranges between 22 euros and 30 euros, as per the airline’s website.

ENAC’s directive emphasized that these additional charges should not be imposed on adults accompanying passengers who require assistance, like young children and individuals with disabilities. The court supported this stance, indicating that the proximity requirement between a minor and an accompanying adult is crucial for safety and should not entail extra costs.

Despite the ruling, Ryanair stated that the decision “does not require any change” in its current seating policy, clarifying that no fees are charged for children under 12 traveling with an adult. During earlier proceedings, Ryanair labeled ENAC’s portrayal of its policies as “misleading” and noted it had implemented temporary measures to provide free seat allocations to adults accompanying minors or special needs passengers.