The fine imposed last year by the Hungarian consumer protection authority on the low-cost airline Ryanair was lifted by a court in Budapest. Because the carrier had passed on the special tax introduced by the Orban government to the passengers, it became initially "punished" with 763.000 euros.

Among other things, Hungary's Orban government has introduced a so-called excess profit tax to improve the desolate state budget. Various sectors, including aviation, were also asked to pay. It was actually intended that the companies would have to bear the additional costs themselves, but Ryanair passed these on to the passengers - even afterwards.

Politicians close to Orban became active with statements such as wanting to “protect Hungarian families” and this led to the carrier being fined 763.000 euros. In contrast, Ryanair went to court in August 2022 and now a court has ruled that the sentence is void.

Among other things, it was found that the transfer of the tax is in line with international aviation treaties and EU law. The court also ruled that the airline's procedural rights had been violated in advance. Ryanair writes: "The judgment of the Hungarian court is in line with EU law, which guarantees all airlines the freedom to set prices and pass taxes on to consumers retrospectively".