Ryanair passengers set for major change as new check in rules revealed

Ryanair has announced new plans that will see passengers only being allowed to check in using their phones.

The new rule, which takes effect from November 3, will see passengers going completely paperless as the airline will now only accept electronic boarding passes at airports in Ireland and across Europe Anybody flying with Ryanair will be required to produce a digital version of their boarding pass through the MyRyanair app.  

Ryanair say the reasons behind the shift to digital boarding consist of improving the customer experience, eliminating airport check in fees and reducing carbon footprints as the measure will save over 300 tonnes of waste paper annually. 

The new development was originally planned to take effect in May but was delayed so as not to disrupt the peak summer travel period. Passengers are now advised the rule change will now take place at the beginning of the airline's less frantic winter schedule, which begins on November 3.  

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Some passengers may be concerned about what they can do if they lose their phone or of their devices run out of battery before the pass board the aircraft. Ryanair has said they will assist people experiencing difficulties free of charge at the gate gathering their information and flight details which will be cross-checked and validated against the flight manifest so that they can board as normal. 

Speaking about the planned change, Ryanair's Chief Marketing Officer Dara Brady said "The move to 100% paperless boarding passes from November 2025 will allow us to deliver an enhanced travel experience for customers, streamlined through the MyRyanair app during our less busy winter schedule". 

Mr Brady also believes that the digital method will be more convenient for passengers commenting: "It will be particularly useful to passengers during disruptions as it will facilitate real-time updates from our ops centre directly to passengers phones and will also provide them with alternative flight options and offer transfers and hotel accommodations when necessary".

The shift towards using the app means that passengers will now be able to avail of its other features. These include terminal, gate and boarding status updates, direct updates from Ryanair's operation centre during disruptions and delays.

The biggest feature in line with the new rules will be the ability to have all travel documents readily available in one convenient place. 

Dara Brady is adamant it's a step in the right direction for the airline's future saying: "Like other ticket industries (concerts, sports venues, rail etc.) there has been a massive switch to using mobile and with almost 80% of Ryanair customers already using the MyRyanair app, it is time to transition the remaining passengers to digital, which will see them reduce their carbon footprint and receive a smoother and enhanced travel experience from November 2025 as Ryanair continues to grow to 300 million passengers over the next decade".