Ryanair Goes Mobile Boarding Pass Only: A Great Success?

Ryanair, which has ditched printed boarding passes and gone fully digital, has hailed the move as a great success, as over 98% of passengers now present a mobile boarding pass.

Ryanair’s controversial mobile-only approach

Last Wednesday (12 October 2025), Ryanair went fully digital, ending the option for passengers to print their own boarding pass.

As a result, passengers had to use the Ryanair mobile app to check in and obtain a boarding pass, unless they wanted to pay the airport check-in fee to get a paper boarding pass at the airport.

The move to fully digital boarding passes (DBPs) sparked widespread outrage among media outlets and netizens, with some branding it disgraceful.

It even prompted calls to boycott Ryanair over their insistence on mobile-only boarding passes.

Digital boarding pass: a big success?

After the first day of banning printed boarding passes and switching to fully digital ones, Ryanair claimed the move has been a “huge success”.

In a press release, the Irish low-cost airline stated that “over 98% of passengers presented with their DBP and the other 2% – all of whom had checked in online before arriving at the airport – were issued free of charge boarding passes at airport ticket desks”.

Ryanair also claimed that “customer feedback was universally positive” and that “no passengers were offloaded”.

The low-cost carrier stated that some passengers “had a problem with their phone” but even they “were boarded without difficulty as the gates had their details from their online check-in”.

Reasons behind the switch to mobile boarding passes only

The reason Ryanair is forcing passengers to use a mobile boarding pass instead of printing one at home is simple.

It all comes down to money.

Ryanair says mobile boarding passes speed up travel and allow the airline to send passengers direct notifications about their flight status before departure.

Besides enabling direct communication with passengers, it also gives Ryanair more opportunities to push various booking add-ons through notifications in the app.

For example, notifications can prompt passengers to add extra baggage, choose a seat, book rental cars or hotels, and much more.

This so-called ancillary revenue accounts for a large portion of Ryanair’s profit.

Ryanair CMO Dara Brady said: “We estimate our DBP initiative will save up to €40M annually, and this will help us to lower ticket prices and make air travel more competitive for Ryanair’s customers.”

Direct bookings

Another factor which plays a role in Ryanair’s decision to ditch paper boarding passes and only accept a mobile boarding pass is their ongoing battle with third-party booking websites.

If you book a Ryanair ticket through certain online travel agencies, they will use their own email address and phone number in the booking details – not yours.

The booking confirmation they forward to you is not Ryanair’s, but one they have drafted themselves.

These third-party sites do this because they earn money by offering add-ons – like seat selection and checked baggage – at higher prices than booking directly through Ryanair.

Simply put, they withhold full booking details so you cannot go to the Ryanair website yourself to pay for add-ons at lower prices.

While this usually causes no issues, you could miss important information – such as a changed departure time or new entry restrictions – if the airline sends notices that the online travel agency fails to forward.

Needless to say, Ryanair dislikes this – first and foremost because of lost ancillary revenue – and secondly because it can cause problems when online travel agencies fail to forward important communications or withhold refunds, which also harms Ryanair’s reputation even though the airline is not at fault.

Simply put, Ryanair prefers passengers to book directly with the airline, and the shift from paper to mobile boarding passes makes this more likely – as passengers must download the Ryanair app.

Can you still travel with Ryanair without a mobile phone?

Much of the outrage over Ryanair’s switch from paper to digital boarding passes has come from concerns about people without a mobile phone or who are not very tech-savvy, such as some elderly passengers.

There were also fears that passengers might be unable to show their Ryanair digital boarding pass if their smartphone ran out of battery or lacked mobile coverage.

However, as Ryanair has pointed out, in most cases this should not affect passengers, provided they have checked in online before their flight.

According to Ryanair, if you have already checked in online and your smartphone or tablet is lost or out of battery, you can obtain a boarding pass free of charge at the airport check-in desk.

If this occurs after you have passed through security, your details are already in the system and you will be assisted at the gate.

As the Ryanair mobile app can display your boarding pass offline, mobile coverage is not required to board your flight.

Passengers travelling without a smartphone or tablet can obtain a free boarding pass at the Ryanair check-in desk, provided they have checked in online before arriving.

Ryanair’s switch to fully digital boarding passes does not eliminate airport check-in desks, and it will still be possible to pay for airport check-in for an additional fee, as has always been the case.

In countries such as Morocco, where local laws forbid the use of mobile boarding passes, all passengers can still obtain a paper boarding pass free of charge at the check-in desk, provided they have checked in online.

My take about Ryanair’s mobile-only boarding pass

As is often the case, any change Ryanair implements – or anything their outspoken CEO Michael O’Leary says – angers a segment of society and sparks outrage, whether real or imagined.

When it comes to ditching printed boarding passes in favour of mobile ones, most of the criticism of Ryanair appears unwarranted.

As long as Ryanair honours its promise to provide a free paper boarding pass at the airport to those without a mobile phone or whose smartphone has run out of battery – provided they have checked in online – the recent shift to digital-only boarding passes should not affect passengers.

Honestly, much of the Ryanair criticism can be rather tiresome, especially when it comes from people who never fly with the airline.

People nowadays tend to forget the motto “live and let live”.

And if you do fly Ryanair and dislike these changes, put your money where your mouth is and stop flying the airline.

Sometimes it really is that simple.

Conclusion

Ryanair has ended the option to print boarding passes and gone fully digital, requiring passengers to use the Ryanair app on their mobile phone or tablet.

Although this change has angered some people, Ryanair claims it has been a success, with over 98% of passengers successfully showing their boarding pass on a mobile device.

The airline has stated that passengers unable to show a digital boarding pass – such as those without a mobile phone or whose device has run out of battery – can still obtain a free boarding pass at the airport, provided they have checked in online.