Copyright irishmirror
With the winter months approaching, many Irish travellers will be thinking about booking a holiday to escape the dreary weather . But before you do, it's important to check your chosen airline's latest rules - especially if you're flying with Ryanair. The popular airline, known for its strict policies, has announced a major rule change coming into effect on November 12. From that date, Ryanair will move to 100% digital boarding passes, meaning passengers will no longer be able to use printed versions at the airport. According to the airline, currently around 20% of passengers in Ireland and across Europe still rely on printed boarding passes, so the change could affect thousands of journeys. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary highlighted that most passengers already use digital passes, but the shift has sparked concern for those who find technology challenging. Campaign groups have criticised the move, warning that people without smartphones could face difficulties at the airport. Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, told The Telegraph : "It's a disgraceful move. They are effectively saying they don't want older people as passengers. There's a strong argument to say that it's discriminatory." Some passengers have expressed frustration, writing to Mirror UK about how this could make travel more stressful for those less familiar with apps. One person said: "I have elderly in-laws who live in Spain . They won't be able to download anything onto their phone. They're not tech savvy, so what will happen when they travel to the UK? I appreciate the need to utilise technology, but that will not work for a lot of passengers." Another added: "This seems discriminatory to people, such as the elderly, who, for various reasons, are not able to use smartphones . By Ryanair's own admission, some 10% of passengers do not use smartphones currently for boarding passes. It may backfire. Ryanair will lose these customers who will turn to alternative providers without such a policy." O'Leary has reassured travellers that the airline will remain flexible, promising that "nobody would be cut off at the knees." Passengers who have checked in online but lose their phone or have technical issues will still be manually boarded at the gate. He also stressed that the policy will be enforced gradually, with allowances made over the Christmas period and into January. He said: "The critical thing: If you've checked online before you get there and you lose your phone, we'll have your name in the system. We will manually board you at the boarding gate so if your phone goes off, you lose your phone, your phone gets stolen, it is not going to make any issue as long as you checked in online before you got the boarding gate, which, by the way, would eliminate all the check-in fees at the airport." Mr O'Leary argued that it was patronising for people to suggest that the elderly would not be able to cope with the change, saying: "Actually, what you find is the old people firstly just get their kids or grandkids to make bookings for them, and then pretty quickly they're adopting it themselves. And it is slightly patronising, this notion that old people can't and won't move to mobile technology or to the apps," Mail Online reported. The rule change was originally scheduled for May, but has been delayed to November 12 to avoid disruption during the Irish half-term holidays. Ryanair's marketing chief, Dara Brady, said the move will create a faster, smarter and greener travel experience for passengers. He said: "To ensure a seamless transition to 100 per cent digital boarding passes for our customers, we will make the switch from November 12, which is traditionally a slightly quieter time for travel following the busy mid-term break period. "Ryanair's move to 100 per cent digital boarding passes will mean a faster, smarter, and greener travel experience for our customers, streamlined through our best-in-class 'myRyanair' app, where passengers will also benefit from helpful in-app features, like Order to Seat and live flight information." The transition follows trends seen in other industries, like concerts and sports events, which have already switched to fully digital ticketing. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
