Millions of over-55s face travel chaos as major airline launches new travel rules

The budget airline will only accept digital passes issued through its myRyanair app from November 3.

The move will allegedly “save approximately 300 tonnes of paper, eliminate airport check-in fees and allow passengers to get direct notifications on flights.”

However, the change is expected to cause problems for the 2.06 million Brits aged over 55 who do not own a mobile phone, according to figures from MoneySuperMarket.

That’s around 10 per cent of the age group, many of whom still rely on printed documents when travelling.

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Alicia Hempsted, travel expert at MoneySuperMarket, said the change could catch some passengers off guard.

“While in some senses this is great news when it comes to cutting down on unnecessary waste and avoiding check-in fees, having a strict no boarding card policy means travellers need to be prepared to go digital,” she told MailOnline.

“If you’re used to printing off your boarding pass, make sure you’ve downloaded the Ryanair app and followed the steps to download your digital pass, or you could face delays when you get to the airport.”

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary has defended the move, claiming that most passengers already use mobile technology.

“At the moment, between 85 and 90 per cent of passengers show up with smartphones,” he said earlier this year.

“Almost 100 per cent of passengers have smartphones, and we want to move everybody onto that smartphone technology.”

Mr O’Leary, 64, has also rejected claims that the new policy discriminates against older people.

He said: “I’m old, and I travel with Ryanair on a very, very regular basis, and I use the Ryanair app – it is pretty simple, pretty easy to use.”

The airline boss added that it was a “myth” that older passengers can’t adapt to new technology.

“Actually, what you find is the old people firstly just get their kids or grandkids to make bookings for them, and then pretty quickly they’re adopting it themselves,” he said.

“And it is slightly patronising, this notion that old people can’t and won’t move to mobile technology or to the apps.”

But campaigners representing older travellers have criticised the change, describing it as a “disgraceful move” that prioritises profits over accessibility.

Despite the backlash, Ryanair has not announced any plans to reverse or modify the policy ahead of its rollout next month.