A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to one year in prison for arranging the sale of a mobile phone on the Wallapop platform, which specialises in secondhand product transactions and misappropriating the funds without returning the item.

The penalty, imposed by a court of the Third Section of the Provincial Court of Alicante, states that the man listed the phone for sale for 450 euros and misled the individual who expressed interest in purchasing it into believing that he would ship it to them.

In reality, he provided images and the device’s IMEI number, confirming the purchase. The defendant deposited the agreed-upon amount of €450 into his bank account. However, the defendant’s desire for illicit enrichment led him to confiscate the money before the buyer even received the phone.

The wounded party demanded a reimbursement, which the defendant told him would be granted. In fact, according to the verdict, he deposited a cheque that bounced, incurring additional costs of €20.85 for the aggrieved party.

At the start of the hearing, the defendant admitted the facts and reached an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution, represented by the injured party, accepting a one-year prison sentence, a six-month fine of 3 euros per day, and the obligation to reimburse the complainant for 470.85 euros in economic damages.

The defendant had already received two previous convictions for fraud. In 2016, he was sentenced to nine months in jail, then a year later, he was sentenced to another 14 months and nine days.

A new lawsuit has been won for imposing illegal carry-on fees. The First Instance and Investigation Court No. 1 of Vitigudino, in Salamanca, has ordered Ryanair to compensate a FACUA Castilla y León member for the €147 she had to pay to fly with her baggage in the cabin on five flights she made between 2019 and 2024.
Judge Raquel Martínez Marco affirmed the affected party’s claim, saying that “carry-on luggage is an essential element of passenger transportation and cannot be subject to a price supplement.” The decision cannot be appealed.
This is the fifth court verdict in favour of consumers that FACUA-Consumers in Action has obtained in recent months over this fraud. In April, the Third Court of First Instance and Investigation of Huesca condemned Vueling, while the Ninth Court of First Instance of Valladolid sentenced Ryanair. In February, the Second Commercial Court of San Sebastián took the same action against Vueling. Cádiz’s Sixth Court of First Instance punished Ryanair last December. These forms of cases are free for the user because they do not have to be filed with a lawyer or solicitor.

Last November, Pablo Bustinduy, the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption, and the 2030 Agenda, penalised five airlines with €179 million for these and other violations. FACUA has been denouncing the illegal tax on hand luggage since 2018.

The recent verdict against Ryanair applies to five flights taken by the aggrieved party, Yolanda Garrido Legarreta, and her daughter between March 2019 and the same month in 2024. Specifically, a maiden trip from Madrid to London and Manchester to Madrid in 2019, followed by trips from Madrid to Mallorca and Mallorca to Valladolid in 2023, and a final voyage from Madrid to Milan in 2024.
In all of these cases, the two impacted customers had to pay the so-called Priority extra in addition to their tickets to bring their carry-on luggage onboard the plane, which is a compact suitcase containing basic necessities such as clothing and personal possessions. “The suitcases fit perfectly in the overhead compartments, but Ryanair forced me to pay extra if I wanted to take them on the plane ,” a traveller writes.

Yolanda is one of hundreds of users who have joined FACUA’s campaign to complain and report the illegal fee for hand luggage. Anyone impacted can register at FACUA.org/aerofraudes.
As part of this campaign, the user told FACUA Castilla y León that Ryanair had charged her an extra price for five flights, totalling €146.78. “When I found out I could claim a refund for all those trips I’d taken, I didn’t hesitate to join the campaign and tell FACUA about my case,” Yolanda says. The association’s legal team subsequently contacted the airline, demanding an immediate refund because the charges had been utterly irregular.
In this regard, Article 97 of the Air Navigation Act of 1960 states unequivocally that “the carrier shall be obliged to transport, along with the passengers and within the price of the ticket, the luggage […].” Security concerns, such as weight or size in relation to the aircraft’s characteristics, may disallow the boarding of various items and packages. However, the rule does not apply to those impacted.

Ryanair, on the other hand, never reacted to the claims filed by the association on Yolanda’s behalf, so she decided to take the next step and sue the firm to get her money back.
Historical complaint from FACUA

In October 2021, FACUA submitted its first complaint with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs against the cost for travelling with hand luggage, targeting Vueling especially. In 2018, it filed complaints against Ryanair and Wizzair with the State Aviation Safety body and the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) for the same reason, but neither body took any action.

Last November, Minister Bustinduy signed five sanctions papers, totalling 179 million euros for this and other violations.

A lightning bolt struck a catamaran anchored in Cabo de la Huerta in Alicante’s Sidi region, scaring the four British tourists onboard.

The ship was outfitted with a lightning rod on its mast, and all four crew members were uninjured. Maritime Rescue aided the crew and took them and the ship to Alicante port yesterday afternoon, Wednesday May 14th.

The lightning hit had an impact on the vessel’s electronic equipment, which was 14 metres long and eight metres wide. When the navigation systems failed, a distress call was received. The Salvamento Marítimo vessel Salvamar Leo set off from its base in Alicante around 5:00 p.m. to tow the catamaran.

The ship was anchored at Cabo de la Huerta, and because the electrical system could not be used to raise the anchor, they had to do so manually.

The Maritime Rescue personnel assisted the catamaran’s occupants and then pulled the yacht at a leisurely speed to the Alicante marina, where it docked this afternoon.

A resident of Playa de San Juan said that the boat had been anchored near Cabo de la Huerta for several days, while another recalled hearing a tremendous thunderclap around three p.m.