Ryanair has come under fire for its decision to eliminate physical boarding passes in favour of digital alternatives. The budget airline intends to transition completely to digital by the summer season, a move that has raised concerns among passengers.
One traveller expressed their unease, commenting: "Its ok to say if your battery dies we can do everything at the gate.... no indication of how much Ryanair will charge you if this happens."
There's apprehension amongst the elderly too, who might not be as familiar with smartphone technology, as one person noted: "Some older person's may have a smart phone but that doesn't mean that they know how to use them fully. Basics - yes but not much more."
Challenging the idea that going digital speeds up the process, a passenger remarked: "Digital is quicker? Hardly! They are the ones not ready and we have to wait while they fumble around finding their pass on their phone. People with paper are much faster."
The notion of being condescending towards older travellers was flagged by another customer: "The elderly are not mentally impaired. Stop treating them as if they should be considered so. It is really patronising. Incidentally, if the systems go down, they can't issue paper boarding passes either.", reports Leeds Live.
Furthermore, concerns about mobile-related complications were voiced, with someone stating: "So if there are any issues with your phone, that's it, you're not flying."
Many travellers were left scratching their heads, questioning the need for the policy change and worrying it would cause confusion - particularly for the elderly. "Great idea. Saves time for everyone. But it's always a good idea to have paper copies of everything just in case technology fails or your phone gets nicked," one commenter offered.
A differing view came from another person, embracing the switch to digital: "Online system is the way forward [the] older generation need to get used to the fact."
They added: "Times are changing. It's not hard to adapt."
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English (United States) ·