Starting today, November 12, 2025, Ryanair will scrap its paper boarding passes in lieu of a fully digitized boarding process.
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That makes the European budget airline the first in the world to go paperless, saving around 300 tons of paper waste. At least, when it comes to boarding passes.
Sounds pretty innovative, right? Unfortunately, the move is a bit sudden and has caused protests in popular zones for Ryanair, including the UK and Germany. The change will also have an impact on any Americans who have flights booked with Ryanair and usually prefer a printed boarding pass.
Here’s what you need to know about Ryanair’s push to go paperless.
Ryanair’s new boarding system—how does it work?
The push to get rid of paper boarding passes was originally planned to launch in May 2025. However, the shift was postponed for November because it’s a quieter flying month, meaning fewer journeys will be impacted by the change.
To board Ryanair flights, you must now download the myRyanair app, where you can access and save your boarding pass. These should help simplify the check-in process, too. (If you’re traveling in a group and made a group booking, only one passenger needs to download the app.)
If you arrive without the app (and your boarding pass) downloaded, you will pay a surprisingly hefty fee to have your boarding pass printed at the counter. As of November 12, that cost is between €30-55, depending on the country.
