Hungary fines Ryanair for raising ticket prices to cope with Covid recovery tax

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has called the tax “highway robbery” and “idiotic”, calling on the government to end it

(Dave Thompson/PA)

Hungary has accused Ryanair of consumer protection violations and fined it more than €710,000 after the budget carrier raised ticket prices to cope with a tax on what the government calls “extra profits” of industries ranging from airlines to banks.

Justice minister Judit Varga wrote on Facebook that an investigation against Ireland-based Ryanair started in June and found “unfair trade practices”, triggering a fine of 300 million Hungarian forints (€763,000).