Ryanair is under fire for its decision to ditch paper boarding passes in favour of digital ones, with plans to implement the change by summer. The budget airline previously announced that it will phase out paper boarding passes and check-in desks entirely by the end of 2025. The change would make Ryanair the first airline in the world to go entirely paperless. Instead, travellers will need to present a digital PDF version of their boarding pass via the Ryanair app.
Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, said at a press conference in October: “We are working towards May 1 that everything will be done on the app, nothing will be done on paper anymore.”. Around 60 per cent of Ryanair passengers use the app. Mr O’Leary anticipated this would rise to 80 per cent before the end of 2024, before hitting 100 per cent in spring 2025. As well as eliminating printed boarding passes, physical check-in desks may also be removed. “I’m one of the last remaining people still showing up with my piece of paper,” he said. “But it works so well. [The app] tells you your gate and if there is a delay.”.
Currently, passengers will be charged £55 if they forget to check in online. Mr O’Leary claimed that by scrapping check-in desks and physical boarding passes, passengers will never have to pay for their ticket to be printed at the airport again. However, some customers are voicing their worries about what this could mean for them. One traveller told Birmingham Live: "It's ok to say if your battery dies we can do everything at the gate.... no indication of how much Ryanair will charge you if this happens.".
The move has also sparked a debate on whether everyone is equipped to handle the digital shift, as one person pointed out: "Some older person's may have a smart phone, but that doesn't mean that they know how to use them fully. Basics - yes but not much more.". Another passenger challenged the idea that going digital speeds up the process: "Digital is quicker? Hardly! They are the ones not ready and we have to wait while they fumble around finding their pass on their phone. People with paper are much faster.".
The policy has been criticised for being condescending towards the elderly, with a customer remarking: "The elderly are not mentally impaired. Stop treating them as if they should be considered so. It is really patronising. Incidentally, if the systems go down, they can't issue paper boarding passes either.", reports Leeds Live. Concerns extend to technical glitches too, with another adding: "So if there are any issues with your phone, that's it, you're not flying.".
Some passengers felt that the new policy was excessive and would create confusion, especially for the elderly. "Great idea. Saves time for everyone. But it's always a good idea to have paper copies of everything just in case technology fails or your phone gets nicked," one person suggested. Others countered that embracing digital technology is unavoidable: "Online system is the way forward [the] older generation need to get used to the fact. Times are changing. It's not hard to adapt.".
