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Laudamotion airline, which is owned by Ryanair, has regularly brought large amounts of cash to Mallorca. The union is now asking for an audit of tax payments.
Vienna The German flight attendants of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair, who were previously stationed in Düsseldorf, report quite unusual events. On flights to Palma de Mallorca, for example, they would have repeatedly received red bags with cash amounts of just under 10,000 euros. You should take the money on the plane and deliver it to Spain. And so it happened: as soon as the planes docked in Palma, a Ryanair employee went up and collected the suitcases. In some cases, almost € 60,000 in cash would have been transported from Germany to Spain.
These ominous red bags were documented by the flight attendants with photos, as can be seen in the corresponding reports in the German media “Welt” and SWR in cooperation with ORF and “Profil”. And the local union Vida also reports that Laudamotion employees stationed in Vienna also contacted her the previous year because they had been asked to transport cash to Palma.
It’s clear where the money comes from. They are income from sales on board, in which passengers buy drinks and food, but also perfumes and cigarettes duty free during the flight. Since this year, the payment has been completely changed to contactless methods due to the coronavirus; however, in previous years, large amounts of cash were likely to have accumulated. According to a statement from a German flight attendant, up to 100,000 euros were converted per week.
Customs ask for 10,000 euros or more
This money ended up first in the crew safe at the Laudamotion base in Düsseldorf. So far so normal. However, unlike other airlines, it was not picked up by a money carrier and paid for at the bank in Germany. But divided into packages of almost 10,000 euros and brought to Palma de Mallorca. The amount of just under 10,000 euros is explained by the fact that from this amount the importation of cash into Spain must be actively registered with customs. In Austria, the process is said to have been identical.
There are different answers as to why this unusual step was taken. According to the local Vida union, the money is suspected of being brought abroad because of lower sales taxes. Because when selling on board an airplane, the rule that sales tax must always be paid in the country of departure applies. For a flight from Vienna to Berlin this would be Austria, for the flight back to Germany.
Ryanair’s claim is different, that in the first reports of “Welt” and Co. rejected the issue as a whole. At the request of the ‘press’, it says:’ Before payments were made contactless when sold on board, cash was brought to central cash processing points in Spain, Ireland and Great Britain in accordance with the rules of the EU and customs regulations “. The reason is that Cash processing (counting, etc.) is very expensive and Ryanair does it centrally for efficiency reasons.
No loss tax
The accusations made by “disgruntled ex-employees” are incorrect. Ryanair cites commissions paid to employees for onboard sales as proof of the correct accounting of sales. “And that could only exist if sales were entered correctly in the accounting system.”
It also says: The onboard sale was fully reflected in Lauda’s balance sheet. However, since the company is suffering losses, no corporation tax was paid in Austria. When the “press” asked whether sales tax was always paid in Austria for flights from Vienna, no reply was received before the editorial deadline. (Jaz)
(“Die Presse”, print edition, December 3, 2020)
