Ryanair’s move to ‘100pc paperless boarding passes’ will now start with the less busy winter schedule
The move, first announced last autumn, had been planned for May, but will now coincide with the rollout of its less busy winter schedule.
It means passengers will no longer be able to to print boarding passes when checking in online.
“From November, Ryanair passengers will no longer download and print a physical paper boarding pass, but will instead use the digital boarding pass generated in their myRyanair app during check-in,” it said.
Since it first announced the plans, the airline had been light on details – such as what would happen if phones died, if travellers didn’t have smartphones, or the app went down.
Today, it said that if the phones of passengers who have checked in and downloaded a boarding pass die or are lost, “they will be assisted free of charge at the airport”.
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The move to entirely digital boarding passes is designed to reduce costs, paper and check-in desks.
Almost 80pc of its passengers already use digital boarding passes, Ryanair says, and it expects the move “to eliminate almost all airport check-in fees”.
The airline currently charges a €50 fee to check in and a €20 fee for reissued boarding cards at airports.
“Lead passengers can download boarding passes for all passengers on their booking and share them through WhatsApp etc,” it added.
Where airports do not accept digital boarding passes – examples cited on its website are in Turkey, Morocco and Albania – passengers will be notified and printed boarding passes made available free of charge at check-in.
Having everyone use the app will also enhance the travel experience, Ryanair says – as they can receive flight and boarding updates, and information during disruptions.
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“This will be particularly useful to passengers during disruptions as it will facilitate real-time updates from our Ops Centre directly to passengers’ phones,” said Dara Brady, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer.
“It will also provide them with alternative flight options, and offer transfers or hotel accommodation options when necessary.”
The move to 100pc paperless boarding will save over 300 tonnes in paper waste each year, the airline says.
“Like other ticket industries (concert, sports venues, rail, etc.) there has been a massive switch to using mobile, and with almost 80pc of Ryanair customers already using the myRyanair app, it is time to transition the remaining passengers to digital,” O’Brien said.
Ryanair said passengers with impaired vision “will be able to access all the info they need in one place, with Apple or Android’s built-in screen reader solutions providing additional support in reading the details on their boarding pass aloud to them.”
This “cannot be completed with outdated paper boarding passes” it said.