Europe’s biggest budget airline plans to scrap most paper boarding passes from 12 November 2025. Instead, passengers will be expected to present the pass from the Ryanair app on a smartphone.
Ryanair says that, from that date, “passengers will no longer be able to download and print a physical paper boarding pass”. Instead, they must “use the digital boarding pass generated in their ‘myRyanair’ app during check-in to board their Ryanair flight”.
The carrier’s chief marketing officer, Dara Brady, says: “Ryanair’s move to 100 per cent digital boarding passes will mean a faster, smarter, and greener travel experience for our customers.”
The airline says the decision “follows other key tickets industries (like festivals, music and sport[ing] events) which have successfully switched to digital-only ticketing”. But how will it work – and what happens if the traveller is not a smartphone user? These are the key questions and answers.
What is the current arrangement?
Currently, Ryanair says you must check in online through the airline’s website or app no later than two hours before your flight departs, and “either print a boarding pass on a single A4 page or download a digital boarding pass to your mobile phone”.
What changes from 12 November with Ryanair tickets?
“Printed boarding passes will not be accepted at airports,” says Ryanair. Oddly, though, boarding passes that are printed by ground staff working for Ryanair at the airport will be accepted, at no charge – read on.
Why is Ryanair changing its ticket policy?
Four out of five Ryanair passengers already use digital boarding passes, the airline says. The policy is intended to shift the remaining 20 per cent onto the app – which it describes as “best in class”.
Speaking on The Independent’s daily travel podcast, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said: “Almost 100 per cent of passengers have smartphones, and we want to move everybody onto that smartphone technology.”
The airline says passengers will be able to get real-time updates on boarding, gates, and delays – with “live notifications from Ryanair’s Operations Centre during disruption”. Being easily contactable by the airline can prove useful; at Brno airport last week, passengers were notified of a long delay on the app well before any announcement was made.
What if I don’t have a smartphone?
Concerns have been raised about older passengers who may not own or be comfortable with smartphones. Perhaps surprisingly, it won’t matter much. A spokesperson for Ryanair told me: “Passengers who don’t have a smartphone can ask a friend or family member to download the boarding pass for them.
“Once a passenger is checked in, they will be provided assistance at the airport, where staff can see they have checked in.”
My mobile has run out of charge/been stolen…
No problem. Mr O’Leary told me: “The big concern that people have is ‘What happens if I lose my battery or I lose my phone?’
“If you lose your phone, no issue. As long as you’ve checked in before you got to the airport, we’ll reissue a paper boarding pass at the airport free of charge. But you have to have checked in before you got to the airport.
“Also, if your battery dies or something else happens, once you’ve checked in, we’ll have your sequence number anyway at the boarding gate, and we’ll make sure you get on. So nobody should worry about it. Just make sure you check in online before you get to the airport, and then all will be fine.”
Mr O’Leary acknowledged that the rollout could identify issues. “There’ll be some teething problems,” he said.
In 2008, Ryanair became the first airline worldwide to insist that passengers should check in online in advance, or face a penalty. Passengers who check in at the airport, rather than online, must pay a fee of £55 – though this is set at £30 for flights from Spain.
Don’t some countries still demand paper boarding passes?
Yes. Ryanair makes a special case of flights from Morocco, where the government insists passengers must have paper boarding passes: “You must complete check-in online to receive check-in confirmation on your mobile phone through the Ryanair App. You must then present this confirmation and collect a printed boarding pass at the check-in desk.”
Any other worries?
Ryanair insists that bookings made through online travel agents, with whom it does not have a contractual arrangement, are “verified” by the passenger before travel. The carrier says: “Verification is required because some third-party agents often send Ryanair fake contact and/or payment details that do not belong to our customer.”
The process should be done ahead of the airport – or a £55 airport check-in fee may be charged.
Listen to Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary talking about the plan on Simon Calder’s daily travel podcast
