What you need to know about boarding pass policies for the UK’s biggest airlines, including the carriers that have gone completely paperless and the destinations that require a printed pass
Check your airline’s rules before setting off for the airport(Image: Getty Images)
Getting your hands on your boarding pass was once a straightforward affair. You’d turn up at the airport, check in at the desk, and a member of staff would hand you a printed copy.
These days, however, with increasing numbers of passengers choosing to check in online and airlines offering digital boarding passes, the whole process can feel rather bewildering.
If you haven’t got the airline’s app, do you need to download it? And if you choose to use a digital boarding pass, what happens should your phone go missing or your battery gives out?
Here’s what some of the UK’s biggest airlines have to say about boarding passes and what’s expected of you when you travel with them, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Ryanair
Ryanair has confirmed it has “moved to 100% Digital Boarding Passes (DBP)”. This means you’ll receive your boarding pass via the Ryanair app once you’ve checked in — which can be done either through the website or the app itself.
All travellers will be required to download the Ryanair app and check in online, with reminder notifications sent 48 and then 24 hours before departure. Any passenger who fails to check in online will face an airport check-in fee of €/£55 for most flights, or €/£30 for flights departing from Spain.
Once you’ve checked in, your boarding pass should appear automatically within the Ryanair app. Should you lose your phone or your battery runs flat after checking in, Ryanair confirms it will print a replacement boarding pass free of charge.
Travellers departing from certain airports in Morocco are still required to have a printed boarding pass. Ryanair explain: “Passengers flying from Morocco must check in online as normal and then present their DBP at the airport to collect a printed boarding pass, with the exception of those flying from Marrakech, Fez, Agadir, Tangier, Nador or Oujda, where you can now use your digital boarding pass on the Ryanair app.”
Jet2
Jet2 provides a paperless option for its flights and package holidays. By downloading the Jet2 app, passengers can access documents such as boarding passes all in one place.
Jet2 advise that “you can save boarding passes for up to eight passengers on one device.” It added: “When using multiple boarding passes per device, please make sure your group stays together at the bag drop, security, gate and when boarding the plane.”
For those who prefer the peace of mind that comes with a printed boarding pass, Jet2 explains you can: “Log in to Manage My Booking, then select ‘Get boarding pass’. From here, you can either get a PDF boarding pass sent to you or save it to your device. No need to print – just show the pass on your screen when you get to the airport.”
TUI
TUI explains: “if you’re flying with TUI Airways (flight numbers starting with TOM or BY), you have a choice. TUI Airways accepts both digital and paper boarding passes.”
It clarifies that passengers who would rather have a printed boarding pass should be sure to use A4 paper, ensure their copy is legible with no tears or damage, and that the barcode is clearly visible, as it will need to be scanned at the airport.
It’s important to bear in mind that not all TUI package holidays involve TUI Airways flights. If you’ve arranged a package holiday but the flight is operated by an airline such as Ryanair or easyJet, you’ll need to verify the regulations for the particular airline you’re travelling with.
EasyJet
There is a list of airports that don’t accept mobile boarding passes on easyJet’s website, including Antalya and Izmir. The majority of these are located in Egypt, Turkey, and Tunisia. If you’re travelling to one of these airports you should check in online and print a boarding pass.
That said, for most easyJet flights, the airline suggests downloading its app to keep all your trip details in one place. It says: “For more convenience and to access your boarding passes offline, you can download mobile boarding passes directly to your Apple or Google wallet.”
For those who prefer a paper boarding pass, these remain perfectly acceptable, with easyJet’s website stating: “The best way to store your boarding passes is to use the free easyJet mobile App or you can choose to print them out. You cannot use a PDF scan of your boarding pass on your mobile device as the airport security team will be unable to scan them.
“If you lose your boarding pass don’t worry, you can simply print them again. If printing, make sure the entire boarding pass is clearly printed.”
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