Ryanair denies passengers have been charged to download boarding passes
Dozens of customers beg to differ, claiming they were forced to pay for seats or queue in the airport for a physical boarding pass
Ryanair is back in the headlines again, this time accused by dozens of passengers flying from the UK to Spain and other destinations of unfairly charging them to download their boarding passes.
Last week, it came to light that several customers were left with no option other than to pay for a specific seat on the plane unless they wanted to queue up at the airport to collect a physical boarding pass. According to the airline’s long-standing policy, passengers who opt for random seat allocation shouldn’t be charged anything.
But while Ryanair has denied any policy change, many travellers have complained on social media that they have had to pay a “scandalous” new fee to access their boarding passes online.
One of the furious passengers affected took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his indignation:
“When and why did you start this carry on? I now have to QUEUE to collect my boarding pass at the airport?"
Another passenger said: "I just can't believe your new policy of not allowing passengers to create a boarding pass (mobile or print-out) unless they buy a seat, forcing them to join a check-in queue (30m or longer) to do so for no other reason for you to make a few quid. Scandalous."
Ryanair has come out swinging though, insisting in an official statement that no such charges exist.
“All Ryanair passengers can pay for a reserved seat if they so wish or if passengers wish to avoid this seat fee, they can select a randomly allocated seat entirely free of charges,” spokesperson said.
“There is no new procedure in force,” they added.
However, it’s difficult to argue with the passengers who reportedly experienced the change first-hand, as was the case with Neil Buckley, who recently flew to Riga with Ryanair.
“The app said if I opted for a free random seat I'd have to go to check-in to get a paper boarding pass, which I've never seen before," he explained. Rather than face lengthy queues, he opted to pay more than 15 pounds extra to choose a seat number and download his ticket there and then.
This isn’t the first time Ryanair’s policies have been scrutinised, either. In September, the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) in Spain accused the budget airline of malpractice for forcing passengers to pay extra to check in at the airport when their online platforms aren’t working correctly.
However, whether this latest debacle is a ploy to charge customers more or simply a temporary glitch in system remains to be seen.
Image: Archive
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