Ryanair passengers will have to get used to a new change to flights. The budget airline is axing paper boarding passes this winter. From November 3, all flights will require passengers to use the Ryanair app for a digital boarding pass.
Paper boarding passes will no longer be accepted. The airline has said passengers without phones or with dead batteries will be able to find help in airports. In groups, the lead passenger can download more than one boarding pass and share it on digital platforms. The move aims to remove airport check-in fees, save an estimated 300 tonnes of paper each year, and allow passengers to receive direct updates.
Speaking on The Independent’s travel podcast, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary clarified some of the details and explained how the rules will work. He said: “Between 85 and 90% of passengers show up with smartphones. Almost 100% of passengers have smartphones, and we want to move everybody onto that smartphone technology.
“The big concern that people have is: “What happens if I lose my battery or whatever, 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 happens, once you’ve checked in, we’ll have your sequence number anyway at the boarding gate, we’ll take you you’ll 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.”
This comes after Ryanair announced it would be offering a new route from a major UK airport to an Italian city beloved by British holidaymakers.
The budget airline will launch flights between Birmingham and Rome Ciampino on October 26. The flights between Birmingham and the Italian capital will operate on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
This winter, Ryanair will operate four flights per week between Stansted and Murcia, a Spanish city known for its cathedral, which features elements of Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture.
As per Travel Gossip, it’s also offering two flights a week to Trapani in Italy and three flights per week to Lübeck and Münster in Germany. It’s also launching a service between London Luton and Wroclaw in southwestern Poland.