RYANAIR BAN ON PAPER BOARDING PASSES ANGERS CONSUMER ORG: Ryanair recently announced it will no longer accept printed boarding passes, and that passengers will instead be required to use the digital equivalent generated by the low-cost airline’s app to board their flights.

The switch to digital-only boarding passes was initially planned for Nov. 3 but was rescheduled for Nov. 12 so passengers didn’t have to deal with the change during a midseason break. The postponement failed to appease opponents of the decision.

Defending paper: Ryanair estimates that over 20 percent of its 200 million annual passengers don’t show up at their departure gates with digital boarding passes — meaning the change will affect millions of people. According to Patrycja Gautier, head of consumer rights at the European Consumer Organization (BEUC), “there are plenty of reasons why passengers should be able to print their boarding pass at home.”

 

Peace of mind: “Not everyone has a smartphone, and those who do may fear it breaks or gets stolen on the way and prefer having the paper version for their peace of mind,” BEUC’s Gautier told Tommaso.

Proliferating apps: In addition, “consumers are pushed to download apps for everything now,” she added. If other airlines copy Ryanair’s approach, “how could all the airlines’ apps fit on one’s

 

Article from the EP voted position on Air Pax :

 

Article 11c

Check-in

1. Passengers shall have the right to check in either online or at the airport without incurring

any additional charges. For this purpose, air carriers may provide self-service check-in

stations at the airport to facilitate the check-in process.

 

2. Passengers shall have the right to choose, at their discretion, to use a boarding pass either

in paper format or in digital format