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05 July 2012 10:45
Twelve airlines, including easyJet and Ryanair, have agreed to stop charging customers last-minute fees when they pay by debit card, according to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The carriers have agreed to include debit card surcharges in the headline ticket price rather than 'spring them' on consumers at the end of the booking process, the OFT said.
The airlines also agreed to make surcharges for credit cards more transparent so these fees will be clearer and easier to find during the booking process.
Aer Lingus, BMI Baby, Eastern Airways, easyJet, Flybe, German Wings, Jet2, Lufthansa, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Thomson (TUI) and Wizz Air were subject to an OFT consumer law investigation and have agreed to change their practices.
Clive Maxwell, the OFT's chief executive, said: "It is important that the cost presented when people search for a flight is realistic and that they are not surprised by extra charges."
The Government has also announced plans to bring forward legislation to ban excessive debit and credit card surcharges, which costs consumers £300 million a year from the airline sector.
