Ryanair accuses Booking.com of being responsible for flight reductions

Ryanair has criticized several online travel agents for removing its flights from their platforms without warning. The airline mentioned that sites such as Booking.com, Kiwi, and Kayak took down its flights in December. This action came as a result of an Irish High Court ruling that prohibited screenscraper Flightbox from gathering Ryanair flight information for online travel agents. Ryanair stated that this removal of flights would lead to an increase in empty seats by 1% or 2% in December and January. While ticket revenues might also be affected, the airline believes that it will not have a significant impact on its full-year passenger numbers or profit expectations. As a response, Ryanair plans to lower fares for passengers who book directly through its own website. The airline referred to the online agents as "pirates" and expressed its commitment to making fares available to honest and transparent platforms such as Google Flights. Ryanair speculated that the removal of its flights could be a result of pressure from national consumer protection agencies or recent customer verification measures it has implemented. Ryanair has been engaged in a prolonged dispute with online booking sites, and it launched legal action against Booking.com owner Booking Holdings and its subsidiaries, including Kayak, Agoda, and Priceline. The airline suggested that its flights might have been taken off these platforms due to a recent Irish High Court ruling against screenscraper Flightbox, which granted Ryanair a permanent injunction against the unauthorized collection of content from its website. Booking Holdings declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings between Booking.com and Ryanair. This conflict follows a successful financial period for Ryanair, with the airline reporting a significant rise in profits in November after increasing prices. Despite the average fare rising by 24%, passenger numbers increased by 11% to a record 105.4 million in the six months leading up to September. Ryanair flew 12.5 million passengers in December, an increase of 9% compared to the same period in 2022, despite over 900 canceled flights due to the war in Gaza.