Europe’s number one airline, Ryanair, has made a dramatic U-turn on making its boarding passes 100 per cent paperless, with the introduction date now pushed back months
Ryanair has delayed its introduction of paperless boarding passes to winter 2025.
Europe’s number one airline has confirmed that it will be delaying its move to 100 per cent paperless boarding passes to the start of its winter schedule on November 3, 2025.
This means that from November 2025, Ryanair passengers will no longer download and print physical paper boarding passes, but instead will use a digital boarding pass generated in the ‘myRyanair’ app during check-in.
Today almost 80 per cent of Ryanair’s 200 million passengers already use digital boarding passes. As a result of this customer initiative, Ryanair expects to eliminate almost all airport check-in fees from November 2025, as all passengers will have checked-in online/in-app to generate their digital boarding pass.
Ryanair says that it’s move to entirely paperless boarding will enable passengers to reduce its carbon footprint by eliminating unnecessary paper, saving over 300 tonnes in paper waste each year. The airline has said that its ‘myRyanair’ app will improve travellers’ experience with the airline, as the app has other features including a new order-to-seat feature which allows passengers to order direct from their seat on the plane and get served first, live flight information and updates, direct updates from Ryanair’s operations centre during disruption, terminal, gate and boarding status updates, real-time alternative flight options during disruption and all travel documents accessible in one place.
It is unclear why passengers can’t benefit from that app and be able to check-in in person as well. Many have expressed concern about the end of in person check-in, arguing that it will negatively impact those who are less tech literate, and may lead to job cuts.
Ryanair is famous for fining customers who check-in late or have bags that are slightly too large. Last week the Mirror reported on how the airline slaps a £50 charge on all bookings made over the phone, which can be a particular issue for blind people. The week before that, Mirror reporter Ruby Flanagan was made to pay £50 by Ryanair for taking a bottle onto a plane.
Ryanair CMO, Dara Brady, said: “Ryanair is Europe’s number one airline for choice, low fares, and customer service. This move to 100 per cent paperless boarding passes from November 2025 will allow us to deliver an enhanced travel experience for customers, streamlined through the myRyanair app during our less busy winter schedule.
“This will be particularly useful to passengers during disruptions as it will facilitate real-time updates from our Ops Centre directly to passengers’ phones, and will also provide them with alternative flight options, and offer transfers or hotel accommodation options when necessary.
“Like other ticket industries (concert, sports venues, rail, etc.) there has been a massive switch to using mobile, and with almost 80 per cent of Ryanair customers already using the myRyanair app, it is time to transition the remaining passengers to digital, which will see them reduce their carbon footprint and receive a smoother and enhanced travel experience from November 2025 as Ryanair continues to grow to 300 million passengers over the next decade.”
Lead passengers will be able to download boarding passes for all of the passengers on their booking and share them via WhatsApp. In addition, if a traveller has already checked-in and downloaded their boarding pass, but their smartphone is then lost or runs out of battery, they will be assisted at the airport free of charge.
Originally, the change to fully-digital boarding passes was hoped to be implemented as early as May, according to the airline’s CEO, Michael O’Leary. The airline is also looking to scrap check-in desks.
Currently, if travellers need to print their boarding pass at the check-in desk, they will be charged for each passenger. The fees include a €20 (£16.68) fee for re-issuing boarding cards and a €55 (£45.86) airport check-in fee, which reduces to €30 (£25.01) for flights jetting off from Spain.
