Ryanair to scrap paper boarding passes next year
The budget airline says the majority of people flying to Spain and elsewhere now use their phones
According to Ryanair, eight out of ten passengers flying with the airline choose the convenience of mobile phone apps to store their electronic boarding passes, making paper tickets a thing of the past.
As a result, Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’ Leary plans to do away with paper boarding passes, so by the summer of 2025, passengers will be forced to use their phones.
“I’m one of the last remaining people still showing up with my piece of paper,” he said.
“Everybody who travels with us has the app, the mobile boarding pass is on the app and we’ve got to move more and more people that way.
“It also means, once we get everybody onto the app, nobody will ever again pay for a boarding pass at an airport - the airport check-in fee will be gone.
“So, I think it will be a smoother, easier journey for everybody.”
At a press conference this week, Mr O’ Leary also said that Ryanair will eliminate the airport check-in process altogether within the next six months. This means that the only way for passengers to check in for a flight will be through the Ryanair app or website.
Currently, anyone who needs to check in at the airport has to pay a fee of 55 euros, regardless of how cheap their flight was.
When asked about the roll-out date for the new measures, Mr O’ Leary said, “It will probably be around April or May of next year, after Easter. I think from May next year it will be 100% the app.”
One of the big concerns is that if someone’s phone battery dies, they won’t be able to access their electronic pass, but the Ryanair boss has a solution for that, too.
He said: “If your battery dies we have your seat and your passport and we can do that at the boarding gates at the moment.
“We sometimes do that if someone's phone doesn’t scan for some reason. Once we have the name and passport that's fine but everyone will be on the app.”
This comes after Mr O’ Leary’s recent call for a two-drink cap at airport bars on alcoholic beverages following a huge upsurge in on-flight booze-fuelled bad behaviour.
Image: Freepik
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