LONDON

Italy’s competition watchdog has imposed a hefty fine of €256 million ($302 million) on low-cost airline Ryanair for allegedly implementing an "abusive strategy" to block travel agencies' access to its services, according to a statement Tuesday.

The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) said Ryanair complicated the process for travel agencies to purchase flights via its website, a practice that was observed from April 2023 until at least April this year.

It imposed the fine on Ryanair DAC and its parent company, Ryanair Holdings PLC.

"Following a complex investigation, the Authority found that Ryanair put in place an elaborate strategy affecting the ability of online and traditional travel agencies to purchase Ryanair flights on ryanair.com," the AGCM said in the statement.

It added that in particular, the company’s strategy "blocked, hindered or made such purchases more difficult and/or economically or technically burdensome" when combined with flights operated by other carriers and/or other tourism and insurance services.

"Therefore, the Authority concluded that, at least until the integration of APIs, Ryanair’s conduct could and did in fact hinder travel agencies’ sales and affect OTAs’ ability to attract internet traffic," it added.

In response, Ryanair said it will immediately appeal the AGCM’s "legally flawed" ruling and fine.

"Ryanair, Europe’s No.1 airline, today (Tues, 23 Dec) instructed its lawyers to immediately appeal both the bizarre/unsound ruling and the €256m fine, unjustly levied by the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM)," the Irish carrier said in a statement.

It noted that this ruling seeks to ignore and overturn the January 2024 Precedent Ruling of the Milan Court, which declared that Ryanair’s direct distribution model "undoubtedly benefits consumers" and leads to "competitive fares."

"The AGCM’s baseless efforts to redefine a period of time after the Milan Court Ruling and to wrongly claim that Ryanair has a dominant position in air services to/from Italy will be overturned," it noted.

"This ruling and fine are legally unsound and will be overturned on appeal,” it added.