The budget airline is hoping for a ‘seamless transition’ but the move has been branded ‘disgraceful’.
Popular budget airline Ryanair is making a significant change to its booking system this month. The airline has announced it will move to 100 per cent digital boarding passes from Wednesday November 12.
The huge digital-first change was raised in the House of Commons, with MPs discussing the impact on those who don’t have a smartphone, including many pensioners.
Lib Dem MP Ian Sollom posed a question to the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, asking: “With reference to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Ryanair’s proposed requirement for all passengers to have digital boarding passes on (a) pensioners and (b) other passengers who do not possess a smartphone?”
To which Labour Party MP Keir Mather, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, replied: “Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, airlines must ensure that their terms and conditions are fair, transparent, and do not place certain consumers at an unfair disadvantage.”
As reported by Birmingham Live, Mather further explained: “The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for ensuring airline compliance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The CAA conducted a review of airline contract terms in 2019, including those relating to online check-in and the issuing of boarding passes.
“The review concluded that while online check-in requirements can be legitimate, such terms must be clearly communicated and any associated fees should be proportionate.
“Ryanair continues to require all passengers to check in online. According to their new digital boarding pass policy, passengers without access to a smartphone can obtain a boarding pass for free at the airport as long as they have checked-in online.”
The popular airline announced the news with a statement, which read: “Ryanair are moving to 100 per cent Digital Boarding Passes (DBP) from Nov 12, 2025. This means from Wednesday, November 12, all passengers will receive a DBP to their Ryanair App when they check-in online as paper boarding passes will no longer be issued. Online check-in can be completed on Ryanair.com or on the Ryanair App.”
Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Dara Brady further explained the airline’s decision. He stated: “To ensure a seamless transition to 100 per cent digital boarding passes for our customers, we will make the switch from November 12, which is traditionally a slightly quieter time for travel following the busy mid-term break period.”
However, Dennis Reed, director of senior citizen support group Silver Voices, has slammed the airline for attempting to “cut costs and cut corners without caring about the impact on their customers.”
He stated: “It’s a disgraceful move. They are effectively saying they don’t want older people as passengers. There’s a strong argument to say that it’s discriminatory.
“This is going to cause chaos. If somebody goes to the airport to catch a Ryanair flight without the app, what are they going to do? Turn them away? It’s also going to isolate older people from society, which is what businesses that go completely digital do.”
He fumed: “I really would urge them to reconsider. I, for one, will not be flying with Ryanair, and I would urge other people to take the same action.”
