“More than 98% of passengers presented their DBP [digital boarding pass], and the other 2%—all of whom checked in online before arriving at the airport—received complimentary boarding passes at check-in counters,” stated Ryanair in a report on the first day of the initiative across more than 700 flights in Europe by 13:00.
The Irish airline recently announced that starting today, it would no longer accept printed boarding passes, requiring passengers to exclusively use digital boarding passes.
“No passenger was prevented from boarding, and in cases where one or two passengers encountered issues with their phones, they boarded without any difficulty as the boarding gates already had their online check-in data,” assured Ryanair.
The airline further emphasized that passenger reactions have been “unanimously” positive.
“We estimate that our DBP initiative will save up to 40 million euros annually, which will help us reduce ticket prices and make air travel more competitive for Ryanair customers,” noted Ryanair’s marketing director, Dara Brady, as quoted in the statement.
On Tuesday, the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) determined that Ryanair must refrain from denying boarding to passengers with confirmed reservations who are not carrying a digital pass, as well as from imposing fees for the use of physical boarding passes.
“ANAC communicated to the airline that it should effectively abstain from any conduct that prevents passengers with confirmed reservations on a flight (and with check-in completed) from boarding, due to not carrying a digital boarding pass,” stated the communication.
According to ANAC, the airline should also not impose fees for obtaining and using paper boarding passes.
To check for possible constraints on passengers, ANAC reviewed the information published by Ryanair and additional clarifications provided by the company.
This authority concluded that Ryanair intends to uphold all passenger rights and does not plan to impose “a re-issuance fee for boarding passes to those who have checked in online.”
