Ryanair switches completely to digital boarding cards. Passengers will have to use their smartphones in the future to go on board. The airline also plans to abolish its check-in switch. But many travelers fear problems with the new system.
What will change at Ryanair? The company announced in an official announcement (via ryanair.com) that from November 3, 2025, only digital boarding cards at Ryanair will be accepted worldwide. It was originally planned to implement this change in March 2025, but Ryanair has now postponed the introduction. From this point on, passengers can only compete with a ticket on their smartphone. Travelers get the ticket through Ryanair’s app.
That’s why Ryanair wants to be paperless: Ryanair’s decision to use only digital boarding cards have several reasons. The Irish airline would first like to save over 300 tons of garbage per year by avoiding paper and reduce its CO2 footprint. This would also save the company the costs of the paper. At the same time, it is planned to abolish the check-in switch. This should serve to reduce operating costs and make the process for passengers easier.
Around 80 % of passengers already use the digital boarding pass through the Myryanair app. After the changeover, it should be all travelers. The app will not only offer the boarding pass, but also additional functions such as live flight information, updates for flight disorders and an “Order to Seat” option, with which passengers can place your order directly from the square.
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The changeover of Ryanair creates concerns
What does that mean for travelers? From November, travelers will be forced to check online to get their digital ticket. Without a smartphone, a regular start should no longer be possible. Anyone who currently misses the booking of a digital ticket can be confronted with additional fees for check-in at the switch, where there is a fee of up to 55 euros for the expression of the boarding pass. Ryanair emphasizes that with the abolition of the check-in switch, the possibility of printing will also be eliminated.
What problems are expected? The switch to digital boarding cards ensures concerns, especially among travelers without smartphones or in the case of technical problems, such as an empty battery. Questions about how Ryanair helps in such cases were asked by the Magazine Xataka, but have so far remained unanswered.
There are also legal concerns: The FACUA consumer protection association criticized the decision as “illegal and abusive”, especially with regard to disadvantaged groups that rely on printed boarding cards. In some countries such as Morocco or Turkey, where printed tickets are still required, problems could also arise.
While Ryanair drives the digitization of its services, tourism is also changing in other parts of the world. In Japan, for example, the most famous cities in the country experience an increase to tourists, which leads to crowded cities. The Japan’s government is now asking tourists to intensify the country’s rural areas in order to support less visited regions.