The Spanish low-cost airline Vueling has been ordered by the Superior Court of Madrid to repay almost half a million euros for irregularities in the application of discounts to passengers residing in the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, which dates back to 2013 when the discount was 50%.
All residents in these areas can benefit from a 75% discount on flights and ferries to and from mainland Spain, which is subsidized by the central government from whom the airlines and ferry companies must claim it.
However, following an inspection, it has been determined that in 2013 around 14% of the bonuses were ‘fraudulent use’ and 459,000 euros including interest, must be returned.
The central government issued the resolution in July last year, which was appealed by the airline, which after the TSJM ruling, still has the possibility of appealing to the Supreme Court (TS).
The sanction is the result of the verifications initiated by the General Intervention of the State Administration (IGAE) in the middle of 2017 when on two occasions, Vueling and 58 travel agencies were offered the possibility of presenting the documentation they deemed appropriate in their defence. Still, it was not until April 2019 when the company stated that only two agencies had provided the required information, and assured that for their part they made all the flight coupons available to the State.
The State Administration clarified that in reality what it had "repeatedly" requested were the invoices for the tickets issued to the passengers, and the accreditation of the payment for which the state body considered that the company had not complied with.
For this reason, in March 2019, they urged the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) to start the refund procedure for half a million euros, because Vueling had not provided documentation proving the sale and collection of tickets by certain agents and flights, therefore it was concluded that the amount paid was higher than that stated in the invoices issued by the agencies to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
