Judge considers “abusive” that Ryanair passengers have to pay for a printed boarding pass

A Barcelona Commercial Court cancels the clause that penalises Ryanair passengers without printed boarding passes. Judge says the €40 fine is ‘abusive’ and obliges Ryanair to pay 285.55 euros to the passenger who filed the complaint. The reason: a boarding pass is an essential document to travel and paying an extra cost violates the Montreal Convention.

CNA / Pol Solà

January 14, 2011 11:06 PM

Barcelona (ACN) .- A Commercial Court in Barcelona cancelled the clause that fines airline passengers of Ryanair 40 euros when they do not have their boarding pass. The judge considered the law to be 'abusive' and asked the company to not only withdraw it but also pay €285.55 euros to a passenger in Girona airport who is currently requesting reimbursement for the cancellation of a flight to Girona and the cost of receiving her boarding pass.


At the court ruling in Barcelona the judge said passengers should not be forced to pay for a document that is required to travel. According to the judge, the clause violates the Montreal Convention as this extra cost is not comparable to one for something like extra baggage.

The lawsuit was filed by the lawyer Dan Miró who was acting on his own behalf. He referred to a trip back and forth between Girona and Alghero. The complainant went to the airport but did not bring the document that the airline company had sent her via email, which corresponded to a boarding pass.

Ryanair made the complainant pay for the document in the airport, something that the judge considers unfair. Referring to the Montreal Convention, the judge reminded the airline that it is required to issue the passenger a ticket, i.e a boarding pass.

In the ruling, the judge repeated that the airline had the responsibility of issuing this document and said that it was 'abusive' of Ryanair to charge passengers €40 for receipt of a document that is essential for travelling. Therefore, the judge has requested the nullity of the bill and has asked the company to pay €285.55 to the customer.