European airline Ryanair has expressed dismay over a recent ruling from a court in Spain which has declared the £40 fee to customers who do print their own boarding cards as illegal.

Ryanair has received press attention in the past for the practise, in which customers are required to print their air tickets prior to the day of the flight. Those who fail to do this are faced with the charge at the airport and may not fly without paying it. The fee was introduced two years ago as the airline axed traditional check-in procedure, favouring customers to check in online.

In Barcelona, Spanish judge Barbara Maria Cordoba Ardao ruled that t goes against international law, but Ryanair are fighting back and have instructed lawyers to file an appeal. It claimed the ruling was ‘bizarre and unlawful’, and adds that it would have to employ extra staff to handle and issue boarding passes manually at the airport. In the interim, it is considering turning away air travellers completely if they fail to present a pre-printed boarding card.

According to figures issued by the budget airline, ‘more than 99%’ of its customers follow the practice, meaning that the fee is only issued to a small minority of travellers.

Travel editor Simon Calder, who works for the UK’s Independent newspaper, has commented that Ryanair will be massively commited to having the ruling overturned. "Judging from Ryanair's previous record of robust reactions to unfavourable court decisions - abandoning airports such as Strasbourg in France and adding a "wheelchair" surcharge to fares after a case involving disabled passengers - it's absolutely serious."

Reported by Sam Doving.

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