Airline to say definitive goodbye to paper boarding passes

Airline industry disruptor Ryanair has announced plans to ban all paper boarding passes from November 12. 

The Irish budget carrier says the shift to accepting only digital passes means that all customers will now need to download the Ryanair app, affecting roughly 20% of passengers who currently use paper boarding passes. 

Digital board passes will "minimise" delays, the airline says. 

Michael O'Leary, the airline's chief executive, also announced earlier this year that he expects to get rid of virtually all airline check-in desks, saying the move would "create a smoother, easier journey for everybody". 

Speaking to The Independent newspaper, O'Leary said: "Between 85 and 90% of passengers show up with smartphones. Almost 100% of passengers have smartphones, and we want to move everybody onto that the smartphone technology."

But he conceded the big concern that people have is: "What happens if I lose my battery or whatever I lose my phone?"

O'Leary had an answer: "If you lose your phone, no issue. As long as you've checked in before you got to the airport, we'll reissue a paper boarding pass at the airport free of charge. But you have to have checked in before you got to the airport.

"Also, if your battery dies or something happens, once you've checked in, we'll have your sequence number anyway at the boarding gate, we'll take you you'll get on. So nobody should worry about it. Just make sure you check in online before you get to the airport and then all will be fine."