Passengers who present printed boarding passes at airports will no longer be accepted to fly with Ryanair, the company has announced.
One of Europe’s biggest budget airlines said it was “moving to 100% digital boarding passes” from Wednesday in a bid to speed up travel and lower costs.
It said all customers needed to check in online before arriving at the airport, adding that 90% of its 206 million passengers were already doing so and using digital boarding passes.
Some campaign groups have raised concerns about how the change will affect people who do not have access to the internet.
A recent report by communications watchdog Ofcom found 5% of people in the UK do not have internet access at home – including via a mobile device.
Dennis Reed, from campaign group Silver Voices, told BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme the change was “the tip of an iceberg”.
He said many services required apps or QR codes, which older people found challenging to use.
“The digital revolution has gone completely bonkers to be honest,” he said.
Age UK said that companies that move more processes online still had a responsibility to offer an alternative way of booking, checking in and showing tickets.
Ryanair should not “forget the 4.3 million older people who do not use a smart phone,” said Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s charity director.
Peggy-Ann Munroe, 94, from Suffolk, said she frequently travels with Ryanair to visit her daughter in Italy and had found the airline’s digital move “depressing”.
She said she was worried about adding extra travel time on top of the two hours already needed before her flight, as well as navigating an unfamiliar system in a country where she cannot speak the language.
“I would be very sad to not be able to go and see my daughter, I look forward to it. It’s the highlight of my year,” she said.
Those who fail to check in online ahead of their flight will have to pay an airport check-in fee of up to £55, the airline confirmed.
However, customers who have checked in online but cannot access their boarding pass on their smart phone will able to receive it for free at the airport – previously there was a £20 charge.
Ryanair has said the change will make things more efficient and lower flight costs for customers, as well as being environmentally friendly.
With the exception of Morocco, which still requires a paper boarding pass, the change will apply across Ryanair’s entire operation.
Passengers travelling to Morocco will still be able to collect boarding passes at the airport.
Despite the change, the company will continue to have check-in desks at airports.
