Air France is fined over ‘no show’ penalty

The firm was told to refund the ticket, and pay €500 in damages and €800 in costs.

The man’s lawyer told the Toulouse court that the practice was contrary to Air France’s terms, which only permit the charging of a supplement.

Airlines defend charging more to “no show” passengers, saying one-way tickets can cost more than returns, so they want to deter people from taking advantage of this.

Several European consumer groups recently lobbied the European Commission to ban these “no show” clauses.