Italy's competition watchdog has launched a formal investigation into easyJet over claims the airline misled consumers through opaque bundled baggage pricing on its booking platforms.
The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), Italy's antitrust authority, announced on Tuesday that it opened a formal probe into easyJet Airline Company Limited over alleged unfair commercial practices.
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The case centres on how the carrier structures and presents baggage fees on its website and mobile app, with the regulator alleging that passengers were routinely given a distorted picture of what they were actually paying.
According to the AGCM, easyJet's platform set bundled checked baggage and sports equipment for round trips as the automatic default, presenting only an overall average price for the service, even when customers had no intention of purchasing it for both legs of their journey.
The regulator contends that anyone wishing to add luggage for one leg only was forced to interrupt the booking process to override this setting, a step most consumers would be unlikely to notice or navigate.
The investigation will assess whether easyJet's booking system created unclear pricing conditions and limited consumers' ability to make fully informed choices.
At the time of writing, easyJet has not publicly commented on the case.
Italy's AGCM previous actions
This is not the first time easyJet has appeared before Italian authorities.
In May 2021, the AGCM imposed a €2.8 million fine on the airline alongside Ryanair and Volotea, after all three failed to offer cash reimbursements for flights cancelled when Italy lifted its COVID-19 travel restrictions, issuing vouchers instead.
EasyJet appealed, but the Lazio Regional Administrative Court in Rome rejected the challenge in February 2025.
The AGCM has shown no hesitation in pursuing the sector more broadly.
In December 2025, it fined Ryanair €255 million for abusing its dominant position in air travel to and from Italy.
The Italian authority concluded the carrier had deployed an "elaborate strategy" to obstruct travel agencies from purchasing its flights, including through facial-recognition checks, payment blocks and mass account deletions, a ruling Ryanair immediately vowed to appeal.