Ryanair has officially transitioned to fully digital boarding passes starting today, marking the end of paper boarding passes.
All travellers are now required to complete online check-in before arriving at the airport, reports RTE.
Passengers will no longer have the option to print a paper boarding pass. Instead, they will access their boarding pass through the Ryanair app on their smartphone.
The airline stated that 90% of its more than 206 million passengers already use digital boarding passes, reports RTE.
If a passenger does not own a smartphone, loses it, or runs out of battery after checking in online, they can still obtain a boarding pass at the airport.
However, passengers who arrive without checking in online will be required to pay the airline’s check-in fee, reports RTE.
Ryanair said that the move to digital-only boarding will help reduce airport costs and that the savings will be passed on to customers through lower fares.
The company also noted that the change will make travelling faster and more environmentally sustainable, reports RTE.
Age Action’s Head of Advocacy and Public Affairs warned that Ryanair’s decision could disadvantage people who lack digital skills or cannot afford to engage in online services, reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s *Morning Ireland*, Camille Loftus said that many older people are “locked out” of digital systems and “not considered at all”, reports RTE.
She explained: “One of the things that older people who have called us about this, and we’ve had lots of calls about this, is that flying is a stressful enough activity as it is,” reports RTE.
“The workarounds that Ryanair are providing … require you to check in online. So again, you still need that capability, a computer, a phone, a tablet, an internet connection in order to do that,” she added, reports RTE.
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