Ryanair said it will "vigorously appeal" a €3 million fine from Italian civil aviation authority ENAC.
The airline dismissed the claims of the 178 alleged violations between May 17 and 22 as "false" and also criticized ENAC for not allowing any opportunity to defend or respond to the alleged claims.
It seems the main point of contention is over hotel expenses.
Ryanair said it offered many disrupted passengers in Italy accommodation at its own expense in local hotels, and "those that couldn't be accommodated (because of the extraordinary volumes) were advised to submit a claim for reimbursement of their hotel expenses to Ryanair at the end of their trips".
ENAC said this procedure is against EU 261, the law which says what airlines must provide to stranded passengers, in that airlines must provide assistance without asking for money in advance.
But Ryanair said: "This is the same procedure followed by all airlines in Italy and across Europe during the week of the 17th-22nd April and fully complies with EU261."
Ryanair's Stephen McNamara has accused ENAC of bias against the airline: "It is extraordinary that ENAC would announce on Saturday that Ryanair has been fined €3m for 178 alleged violations of EU261, without ENAC making any attempt to notify Ryanair of any of these cases, or allowing Ryanair an opportunity to explain how it complied with EU261 allegations before ENAC rushed to invent and then announce this unexplained €3m fine.
"At a time when all airlines across Europe were cancelling thousands of flights and disrupting millions of passengers, it is extraordinary that ENAC could investigate and then impose a €3m fine only upon Ryanair, yet not any other airline appeared to have warranted such sanction. This would appear to be the latest in a long series of biased, anti Ryanair rulings by ENAC, an organisation which has repeatedly shown its bias and its lack of impartiality when it comes to cases relating to Ryanair."
The Italian civil aviation authority said other airlines hadn't been fined they hadn't broken the rule and has defended the legitimacy of the claims: "L'ENAC totally rejects the assertions being used as an excuse by Ryanair, reaffirming instead its own absolute impartiality and non discrimination in judging and sanctioning the poor service."
www.ryanair.com www.enac.gov.it