Ryanair Goes Fully Digital: Paper Boarding Passes Scrapped from Tomorrow

Ryanair will no longer accept printed or home-printed boarding passes from tomorrow, 12 November, requiring passengers to use digital boarding passes through the myRyanair app instead. The change affects all flights departing from Wednesday onwards, though exceptions remain for certain airports.

The airline's move to 100% digital boarding follows existing adoption by nearly 80% of its 207 million annual passengers. From tomorrow, travellers must check in online via Ryanair.com or the mobile app, where their digital boarding pass will appear automatically after check-in is complete.

Passengers who have reserved seats in advance can check in up to 60 days before departure, while those with random seat assignments can check in from 24 hours until two hours before their scheduled flight. Check-in reminder emails will continue to be sent 48 hours and 24 hours before departure.

For those without a smartphone or tablet, Ryanair has confirmed that free printed boarding passes will still be available at airport check-in desks, provided passengers have checked in online before arriving at the airport. Similarly, if a phone is lost or runs out of battery after online check-in, replacement boarding passes will be issued free of charge at the airport or at the gate if the issue occurs after security.

Airport check-in remains available for passengers who do not check in online beforehand, though an airport check-in fee applies. Check-in desks will continue operating at all airports up to 40 minutes before departure.

Important exceptions apply for certain destinations. Passengers departing from any airport in Morocco, most Turkish airports (except Dalaman), and Tirana when travelling to the UK must still carry printed boarding passes, as these airports do not accept mobile boarding passes.

Dara Brady, Ryanair Chief Marketing Officer, said:

"We are now just a little less than a week out from our move to 100% digital boarding passes. While over 80% of passengers already use digital boarding passes, and therefore won't be affected by this progressive change, we remind the small number of passengers who still print boarding passes to download the myRyanair app ahead of the move to 100% digital boarding passes from Wednesday, 12 November."

The airline says the digital-only policy will deliver a faster, smarter and greener travel experience, reducing paper waste by approximately 300 tonnes annually. Passengers will also gain easier access to app-based features including Order-to-Seat food service, live flight updates, direct disruption notifications and real-time alternative flight options during delays.

The change was originally planned for 3 November but was pushed back to 12 November to allow time after the UK mid-term travel period.