Ryanair to scrap paper boarding passes - passengers will need to use their phone

[cakeorwine]

Are print off Ryanair boarding passes really being scrapped? - Which? News

40% of people still use paper boarding passes. I am one of those people. I do have it on my phone but I do have a worry / what if with phone power, losing phone etc - where as having a paper copy is a good back up.

What happens if your phone dies?

Ryanair hasn’t yet answered this question fully. Though it has said that it can print boarding passes on the gate if necessary, based on passport information, it did not clarify what would happen if a traveller’s phone dies before they are able to pass through security in an airport where Ryanair has removed the check-in desks.
We contacted Ryanair to check if there are plans to introduce any fees for boarding passes printed at the gate, but the airline did not respond.

Flown with Ryanair a bit recently - it's fine. I can see issues at airports for people who may have phone issues, especially power - and after a flight delay. Power can go down quickly.

Two things can be true:

1. Many elderly people do have smart phones and are fine with this
2. The elderly are disproportionately represented in the group that does not have smart phones and therefore this policy may be indirectly ageist (in the same way that a height related policy may be indirectly sexist)

And ask a friendly looking passenger to screenshot your boarding pass from the email

I don't know a single person under 55 who owns a printer, so where are all these people printing passes?

I know what to do - I just forgot to do it. I had to hot spot to DS's phone to get mobile data to download it.

With my printer.
I am under 55

The problem you have got is your phone is too old to handle the latest iteration of the app.

Im surprised that 40% of people use paper boarding passes. I fly regularly and rarely see anyone using paper.

Lithium batteries (battery packs) are a fire hazard. We have a number of battery packs in the house due to our business and they are all housed in fire bags because modern batteries are very bad news!

They can spontaneously combust in a matter of seconds. And when they do. You cant put them out. Like you literally cant. It can burn underwater. It doesn’t need oxygen. You can slow or pause the fire by removing heat in the fire triangle but as soon as you take it out of active cooling it will reignite again.

At the moment it’s not a huge problem. Because most people dont have large lithium batteries and when they do; they are usually from reputable places/ thrown out before they become an issue (ie. In Laptops, Tablets and Phones). And it’s not that long we have used lithium batteries widespread (c. Less than a decade really) so good quality devices haven’t had a chance to just degrade from age yet.

As electronics are becoming more widespread people are buying these things from worse places. Ie. China import electric scooters spontaneously burning peoples houses down.

Most people dont carry battery packs. If those who cant afford new phones need to buy battery packs to keep their old phones alive then I can assure you in all likelihood your going to be sitting on a plane next to a battery from Temu at some point. That is not a good idea!

I am under 50 and own a printer. Mostly I print things at work though.

Person A (the one with the tickets on their phone) scans Person B's ticket and Person B goes through. Then they scan Person C's ticket and they go through. And so on. When everyone else has gone through, Person A scans their own ticket, and goes through.

I prefer a paper boarding pass. Much more convenient to stick inside my passport than juggle my passport and phone separately.

We've just flown Ryanair, outwards and return tickets booked separately and for some reason it let us print boarding passes for the return flight but not the outwards one. No idea why that would be!

Ok, I misunderstood you. I thought you were questioning why everyone on a flight would have a smart phone, I was thinking hasn’t everyone had that for years..! 😂

But yeah, many people seem to buy even cheap fake chargers from places like Temu, and become angry when you point put the danger of putting their house on fire. I don’t understand how you can not understand. Madness.

Because the solution is to go out and spend £200+ on a new smart phone if yours happens to break whilst on holiday? In which case it might be cheaper to book a new ticket with BA or another airline that allows you to check in at the airport without tech.

Me too

It’s mental. I don’t even know how battery packs are allowed on planes tbh.

And our fire bags won’t save the house from burning down. They just contain the explosion slightly in the hope it would give us time to get out the house. You really wouldn’t want that on a plane!

Come on people, this is just Ryanair doing their annual goady press release, which everyone then starts talking about, giving them the free publicity they want.

The papers will duly report it as news, knowing it will get lots of clicks. The morning shows and Loose Women will duly discuss it with appropriate outrage and wry mum jokes.

Ryanair marketing department can put their feet up for a few months.

Boarding pass scanners are down to the airports, not the airlines. Some airports that Ryanair serves don't even have them. It's a non-issue.

I find it quite ageist to assume old people can't use smartphones too. If they can't, they are also unlikely to be travelling through airports now. Do you not have to check in online? I am 50 and I remember you used to ring up to check in. How do those who can't use a computer check in before the flight then? My dad is nearly 80, he's very resistant to new tech, won't click on a link on Whatsapp. But I'm sure he can handle a QR code boarding pass.

I haven't seen the Ryanair boarding pass, but I assume it's a static QR code. You can screenshot it to photos. If it's a rolling on like O2 stadium, then you do need the app.

@JimHalpertsWife

All of Ryanair's flights are not an hour plus from major cities. Perhaps it depends on what you consider a major city but over the last year we've flown with them to Malaga, Valencia and Budapest and all have been less than half an hour's taxi ride to our destination.

They have also sorted out issues that we've had, like DH checking in with DS's old passport details as he sent bother telling us he'd lost his old passport and replaced it a couple of weeks before we went away.

@VonHally oh that's a good idea - print out the screen shot - why didn't I think of that?

Nope. He is incredibly intelligent. Just doesn't like people communicating with him via phone, so refuses to carry one.

Either they aren't printing them as they are using the app, they are printing them at work or by a family member/friend or they happen to be a few of the thousands/millions of people you don't actually know ?

What a daft comment.

It's a good idea to carry a powerbank so that you can do an emergency charge.

I haven't had a paper boarding pass or train ticket for at least two or three years now. Paperless is becoming the norm, thankfully.

I'm not sure that any airline or train company changing to paperless only aren't jumping the gun a bit because there are still a minority of people who for various reasons do not have smartphones. Paperless is coming though, like it or not, and I generally like it.

A two year old iPhone shouldn’t be doing this. Have you taken it to Apple, chatted them online.

I understand the concerns but TBH with the amount folks use their phones and other devices when they are on the move these days (including in-flight) that’s happening anyway.

No way! That’d ruin my holiday😂

Do you not have to check in online?

Nope, not on all airlines, maybe some. They nag you to do it by email but they still do have checkin desks