Ryanair tries forcing app downloads by eliminating paper boarding passes
The policy change also aims to encourage people to do more with Ryanair’s app, such as ordering food and drinks, viewing real-time flight information and receiving notifications if there are delays.
Brady said Ryanair chose the November 12 start date because it is during what is “traditionally a slightly quieter travel period following the busy half-term holiday period”.
Disadvantages when preparing for takeoff
Eliminating paper boarding passes can create many inconveniences. For starters, not everyone wants the Ryanair app on their personal device. And many future customers, especially those who don’t fly Ryanair frequently or don’t travel a lot, may ignore this change, creating confusion during travel, which can already be inherently stressful.
Additionally, some locations served by Ryanair do not accept digital boarding passes, including some airports in Albania and Morocco. In these cases, Ryanair still requires online check-in (either via the Ryanair website or app) and then the airline will provide paper boarding passes.
People who are less tech savvy, who don’t have a smart device, or whose device is dead, won’t be completely out of luck. Ryanair says it will welcome people without access to a smartphone with “a free airport boarding pass” if they have checked in online “before arriving at the airport”.
“No one will be blocked. No one will be left behind,” O’Leary said, according to The Telegraph.
Even so, some travel experts worry about potential chaos.
“There will be absolute devastation when this comes into force,” Irish travel commentator Eoghan Corry told RSVP Live in January.
Ryanair will be the first airline to eliminate paper boarding passes. He has already been at the origin of controversial policies in favor of digital technology. Ryanair was the first airline to require people to check in online in advance or pay a fee, as The Independent notes.
“There will be some teething problems,” O’Leary said of the move to digital-only boarding passes.
