Ryanair now wants to get rid of printed boarding passes: the ‘low cost’ company is committed to a 100% digital process

Ryanair wants to say goodbye to printed boarding passes. Michael O’Leary, CEO of the low-cost airline, has announced at a press conference in Dublin that seeks completely go paperless in this instance of the flight for May 2025. In addition, it has been dropped that the check-in counters are also with one foot out.

Although we live in an increasingly digitalized world, we are facing a significant change that will force many people to change the way they prepare for a trip. Currently, according to the airline, around 60% of its passengers use the mobile application when boarding, the rest still rely on paper.

Goodbye to traditional boarding passes

Not using a digital boarding pass translates into additional expense, specifically, 20 euros by issuing a physical boarding pass at the airport. Ryanair seems determined to end this possibility, and expects 80% of its customers to adopt the application by the end of the year and 100% next spring.

As we say, the airline’s plans go further. Check-in counters should begin to disappear in the coming months, forcing passengers to complete the check-in process completely online and, in addition, saving the £55 or 30 euros in Spain check-in charge at the airport.

“It will probably be around April or May next year, after Easter. I think from May next year it will be 100% the application“said the executive, who added that the company is already working on these changes that aim
continue to keep flight prices low.

Hand in hand with this dynamic, questions arise such as what will happen if our cell phone runs out of battery during boarding. In this case, O’Leary explains that there are procedures that contemplate this type of scenario. It should be noted that some airports, such as those in Morocco, do not accept digital boarding passes.

This is not the first time that ‘low cost’ is in the news this year. In September its CEO suggested that the average ticket price could increase by 30%. This month, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (CPD) launched an investigation into the customer verification of the company where facial recognition is used.

Images | Mariya Oliynyk | Nastya Dulhiier

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