The Italian antitrust authority (Antitrust) has fined Ryanair €255,761,000 for “abuse of its dominant market position in the period from April 2023 to at least April 2025.", the Italian regulator said in a statement.
After a detailed investigation, it was found that “the airline resorted to a strategy aimed at blocking, hindering or creating additional economic or technical difficulties for travel agencies, online tour operators and retailers in combination with airline tickets of other carriers and/or with other travel and insurance services“ on its website.
The low-cost airline holds a dominant position in the domestic and European market for scheduled passenger air travel to and from Italy, acting as a service provider to online travel agencies and travel agencies. “This dominant position is due not only to a significant and constantly growing market share (38-40% of passengers carried on all routes to and from Italy), but also to a number of other indicators. All these indicators contribute to the airline's significant market power and its ability to act independently of competitors and consumers, taking advantage of its significant advantage over its main rival carriers".