Balearic Islands govt calls for urgent meeting with Ryanair

The Balearic Islands government has called for a urgent meeting with Ryanair and the local pastry-makers association, after the airline tried to charge passengers to bring cakes onboard, claiming it exceeded their cabin baggage limit.

A row erupted after two passengers at Palma de Mallorca airport tried to each carry an ensa mada, a traditional Mallorcan pastry, along with their hand baggage. The airline wanted an additional €45 39 from the airline to bring the pastries onboard, at which point the passengers abandoned them rather than paying.

Iago Negueruela, the Balearics tourism minister, said the meeting was called in order to protect local produce and avoid any kind of discrimination.

Pep Magraner, the chairman of the Balearic Islands pastry-makers association, pointed out that passengers may take onboard ensa madas purchased at the airport's duty free shop, and that this discriminated against other suppliers.

All other airlines allow passengers to take two ensa Madas on board, Magraner said. It s only a problem with Ryanair, but we re talking about a lot of flights, especially to the Spanish mainland, which is the destination of most of the ensa madas. The issue is part of a larger dispute over the loose interpretation of what comprises hand luggage. The Balearic Islands consumer affairs office filed suit against easyJet, Eurowings and Volotea last year, demanding fines of €20,000 for charging large fees for hand luggage.

The consumer association Facua imposed similar charges at Vueling and Ryanair. The cases are being considered by the Madrid consumer affairs ministry, while there is pressure on Aena, the Spanish airports firm, to devise a formula.

Ryanair has been contacted for comment.

Ensa Mada, a spiral-shaped pastry, is made from flour, sugar, eggs, water, and pork fat. Its name is reportedly taken from sa m, the Arabic for pig fat.

There are records of a similar pastry called a bulema that was made by Mallorcan Arabs and Jews. A Jewish baker offered a bulema to James I of Aragn when he took Mallorca from the Moors in 1229.

The bulema was not an ingredient in the pastry, which was added to Christianise the pastry. In 1922, the Catalan poet and painter Santiago Rusi ol wrote that the Moorish ensa mada became Christian, then became Mallorcan, and then transformed into a food for all humanity.