Ryanair: forced to pay taxes at airport

annarosatg

Hello everyone,
some weeks ago I've booked some flights with Ryanair, which were advertised with NO TAXES. The return flight fare from London to Berlin was £ 20, plus credit card charge (I'm not checking in any luggage).
Now, a friend of mine booked a similar flight (also advertised with NO TAXES) from Barcellona to Cagliari. When she got to the airport, she was forced to pay airport taxes at the airport, failure to do so, meant she could not check in and fly!
My flight is due in the middle of June, I've checked my confirmation, the terms & conditions and no where it states that taxes are payable at the airport.
Ryanair was running these promotions for many days around the beggining of march.
Did anyone experience the same and was forced to pay airport taxes at the airport ?
is this actually legal? I know that airlines are obliged to advertise flights with all compulsory charges included, therefore if I will be forced to pay airport taxes at the airport, it is surely misleading information.
Any feedback on this will be appreciated!
Thanks
Annarosa

richardw

annarosatg wrote: »

she was forced to pay airport taxes at the airport

How much did she pay in euros?

annarosatg

She paid a ridicolous fare of Eur 10 return for the flight! and she paid Eur 40 for the taxes (return Bcn/Cag) at the airport

richardw

annarosatg wrote: »

Barcellona to Cagliari.

Ryanair don't fly from Barcelona BCN to CAGliari, did they fly from Girona?

annarosatg

Yes, From Girona to Cagliari

richardw

annarosatg wrote: »

and she paid Eur 40 for the taxes (return Bcn/Cag) at the airport

Going Out (Web Fare)
Taxes/Fees details18.39 EUR

Coming Back (Web Fare)
Taxes/Fees details17.65 EUR

BUT the Taxes/Fees are less than 40 Eur.

alanrowell

Several possibilities

a) Spanish Government has increased taxes since the ticket was booked
b) Girona Airport has increased the taxes since the ticket was booked
c) It wasn't a tax but a charge for airport check-in / too many checked bags / checked luggage overweight / printed boarding card not acceptable

In all those cases it's feasible that your friend would be charged extra

Even Ryanair don't charge you at the airport without giving an excuse

annarosatg

Hi Richard, thanks for your interest, but my question was rather if Ryanair can advertise flights with no taxes and hence make you NOT pay for them at booking time and then force the passenger to pay taxes at the airport?
My friend told me she paid Eur 40 in taxes, she just rounded up the figure when she told me her experience.
I'd like to know if anyone else experienced the same.....
This is the first time I ever hear people are forced to pay airport taxes at the airport. My friend could not complete check in at the "check in kiosks" at girona unless she went to ryanair desk and paid for the taxes....

dmg24

alanrowell wrote: »

Several possibilities

a) Spanish Government has increased taxes since the ticket was booked
b) Girona Airport has increased the taxes since the ticket was booked
c) It wasn't a tax but a charge for airport check-in / too many checked bags / checked luggage overweight / printed boarding card not acceptable

In all those cases it's feasible that your friend would be charged extra

Even Ryanair don't charge you at the airport without giving an excuse

Agreed. If something like the OP was going on it would have made the newspapers.

OP, does your friend have a receipt for the extra charge? Does this detail what the charge was for?

annarosatg

I just asked my friend to tell me exactly what the receipt says. I also think that this is a very strange situation... As soon as I have the exact info, i will update this thread

richardw

Appears your friend is not being exact about what went on, If taxes change you'll get something like this

" [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Important Passenger Information - Tax Payment Required [/FONT] [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]We are writing to inform you that unfortunately we have had to increase the communal tax (similar to APD, Air Passenger Duty) applicable to all flights departing from all Italian airports, by €2.

This is the result of a change in the decree n.166 of 27/10/2008 approved by the Italian Authorities. Please click hereto the Ministry of Finance site where the specific decree is published.

Although easyJet strongly disagrees with this surcharge, we have to collect this amount from our passengers, including those who have booked a flight from Italy prior to this law coming into force. This also, regrettably affects passengers who have already travelled with us. Unfortunately as you will be aware as per our terms and conditions if taxes and charges outside of our control are raised before a flight departs, we would are obliged to pass on the cost to you the customer. This does mean that failure to make the additional APD payment may result in you not being allowed to take your flight."

e mailed to you by the airline.

Your friend might just have not got a similar e mail.
If you haven't received anything perhaps best not to worry about it.
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