In an announcement on its official website, the company informed passengers that, from now on, they will be required to present only digital boarding passes via the “myRyanair” app. The decision is part of Ryanair’s goal to become the world’s first paperless airline.

“All Ryanair passengers will continue to receive email reminders to check in online 48 and 24 hours before departure,” the airline stated.

According to Ryanair, this initiative will help save over 300 tons of waste each year, contributing to environmental protection. It is also expected to reduce operating and airport costs for passengers and to improve service quality by providing real-time flight updates, including rebooking information and notifications of potential flight disruptions.

AI-generated photo (Gemini)

However, the decision has faced criticism in the United Kingdom, and consumer organisations in Germany have warned of possible legal challenges against the new policy.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary confirmed that “So far, day one of Ryanair’s DBP has been a huge success as over 700 flights and more than 100,000 passengers enjoyed the improved service and better experience of paper-free boarding at Ryanair airports. 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.”

Currently, more than 80% of passengers already use the airline’s app to book flights, purchase add-on services, and store their boarding passes. For group travel, one person can hold all the digital passes or share them with other travellers.

Passengers arriving at airports without a digital boarding pass can have it printed at the check-in desk for a fee of 30 euros in Spain, 40 euros in Austria, and 55 euros in other EU countries and the UK.