A Ryanair customer has submitted a request for a refund, claiming he was charged the departure tax on two flights scheduled after November 1, when the levy no longer applied.

The claim was one among a number of similar accusations levelled against the Irish low-cost carrier, prompting the Civil Aviation Department to launch an investigation earlier this month into whether the flight operator was illegally charging the tax.

The customer booked two seats on October 14 for a flight in February for himself and his wife, and was charged €48.28 each in taxes, fees and charges.

He told The Times that, to make sure that he had in fact been overcharged, he checked out the prices for the same flight following the tariffs change announced by Ryanair on November 7. Upon booking, however, he found that his taxes, fees and charges amounted to only €24.98, the difference being the €23 departure tax, he said. He sent his refund request on the same day.

The customer, who preferred to remain anonymous, maintained - as MEP Simon Busuttil has done before him − that the flight operator shouldn't have been charging departure tax for flights scheduled after the end of last month. This happened despite Ryanair having been informed of the tax charge months before, he said, adding that he had been assured of this by the Civil Aviation Department. He said that Ryanair should be "fined for pocketing a tax which it should not be charging". He questioned how the flight carrier could "attack" other operators such as Lufthansa and accuse it of using dirty tricks, while at the same time "cheating" customers by charging a departure tax which was no longer due.

A Ryanair spokesman was unavailable for comment.

Speaking of the investigation being conducted by the Civil Aviation Department, a department spokesman said on November 5 that "if true, Ryanair will have to pay back the tax collected". The department also urged passengers facing such a charge to write immediately to the department, adding that the airline had been contacted over the issue.

Refuting the claims on November 7, Ryanair however insisted that it had, in fact, changed its tariffs following November 1 adding that all bookings made since the beginning of the month have not included the abolished tax.

Spokesman Stephen McNamara had said the airline was always opposed to the tax, describing it as a totally unjustified barrier to international travel, adding that it welcomes the abolishment of the tax as it will further encourage Maltese passengers to take advantage of its services.

The €23 departure tax levied on all passengers originating from Malta was lifted after the European Commission declared it was discriminatory.

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