The court ruled in favor of eDreams in the case of Ryanair's insults.

BarcelonaA Barcelona court has forced Ryanair to retract its public statements against the travel agency eDreams, accusing it of committing "acts of piracy" and defrauding people, arguing that this campaign carried out "an act of unfair competition by denigration."

In a ruling, Barcelona's 12th Commercial Court has forced the Irish airline to cease any statements against eDreams that imply to consumers that the company "deceives," "defrauds," commits "acts of piracy," or offers illegal activities. eDreams' legal advisor, Guillaume Teissonnière, argued that Ryanair's attacks seek to "unfairly crush the competition." "Ryanair must abandon these intimidating methods, compete on the basis of its merits, and comply with the law," he urged.

A year ago, justice accepted the precautionary measures that eDreams claimed in its lawsuit, and Ryanair had to halt its controversial statements about the technology company with its operational headquarters in Barcelona. However, given the company's non-compliance, the court issued a formal criminal warning for disobedience in September of this year, warning of possible criminal consequences for further non-compliance.

Ryanair's battle against online travel agencies, not just the Catalan one, warned that they all charged overprices and, therefore, called them "pirates," that "scam," and that they also "deceive consumers." Furthermore, in mid-2024, Ryanair began a specific campaign against eDreams' Prime service, calling it "illegal."

The ruling, which can be appealed before the Barcelona Court of Appeals, requires the airline to publish on its corporate website and social media that it has been convicted for these acts and that it publicly retracts the statements made against the online travel agency. "Ryanair recognizes that eDreams Prime is a legitimate subscription service that offers consumers savings on flights, hotels, packages, and car rentals," is the message that the judge requires the airline to make public on its main communication channels, where it must be published for six months.