Baleares sanctions Iberia with 448,000 euros for canceling the return ticket
The general direction of Consumption of the Balearic Government has imposed a sanction of 448,000 euros to the airline Iberia for applying the "abusive clause no show", by which if the client does not use the one way ticket for any reason, automatically loses the right to use the back
It is a "very serious sanction", the highest ever imposed by the Balearic Government to an airline for a "unilateral decision" to cancel the ticket contracted by the consumer, reported today at a press conference by the Minister of Health, Patricia Gómez, and the general director of Consumption, Francesc Dalmau.
Iberia, which has already been sanctioned by Consume on three occasions in the last three years for the same reason, with a total fine of 60,000 euros, has the possibility of filing an appeal against the Health Department.
The Consumption resolution is based on seven claims files of users of the Balearic Islands of the years 2015-2017 by the clause known as "no show", referring to the non-presentation of the passenger to the contracted flight.
These complaints related to flights with the Balearic Islands originated the intervention of the inspection service, which tracked the Iberia website and found that, in the general conditions section of the contract, this clause was included.
The general director has stressed that this clause violates a state and regional autonomy and recalled that on November 13 the Supreme Court also considered abusive.
The Supreme Court concludes that such practice "implies an imbalance of rights and obligations contrary to good faith, since a consumer who has fulfilled his obligation, which is solely the payment of the price, is deprived in any case of enjoying the contracted provision ".
Consumption has imposed the sanction to consider that Iberia was responsible for a "very serious" administrative sanction in terms of defense of consumers and users, after repeatedly incurring.
The councilor has reported that this is the highest penalty imposed on an airline, after the fine of 320,000 euros to Vueling for the cancellations of the summer of 2016.
In total, during the current legislature, Consumo has imposed sanctions worth more than one million euros on companies in the airline industry that operate on the islands.
This year, the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs has registered 1,586 claims related to air transport compared to 1,291 for all of last year.
Waiting for the closure of 2018, this year 1,115 claims have already been processed in Mallorca, 249 in Menorca and 222 in Ibiza. "It is year after year one of the rising sectors in terms of claims," said Dalmau.
The head of Consumption has highlighted the importance of the complaints filed by consumers, which can detect and combat abusive practices by companies.
The minister has praised the "excellent" work of the professionals of the general direction and the legal services of the conselleria that process these claims and the sanctions that can be derived.
