Portuguese aviation authorities have intervened to protect passenger rights after Ryanair attempted to enforce a digital-only boarding pass policy at the country's airports.
Regulatory Pushback Against Digital-Only Policy
Portugal's National Civil Aviation Authority, known as ANAC, has formally instructed the budget airline to continue accepting traditional paper boarding passes. The regulatory body issued clear directives requiring Ryanair to accommodate passengers who prefer or require printed travel documents.
The authority specifically mandated that the airline must not prevent any passenger with a confirmed reservation from boarding simply because they lack a digital boarding pass. Additionally, ANAC prohibited Ryanair from imposing any fees for obtaining or using physical paper boarding passes at Portuguese airports.
Protecting Vulnerable Passengers
In an official statement obtained by The Independent, ANAC confirmed it had sought additional clarification from Ryanair about their digital transition plans. The Portuguese authority noted that the airline appeared committed to protecting all passenger rights, including those of travellers with disabilities, reduced mobility, or without access to smartphones or tablets.
The regulatory intervention addresses growing concerns about digital exclusion in air travel. ANAC emphasised that no passenger should be left behind due to phone battery failure or lack of digital device access. The authority has committed to ongoing monitoring of the situation to ensure compliance with passenger protection regulations.
Ryanair's Digital Ambitions Meet Reality
Europe's largest budget carrier had previously announced its intention to move entirely to digital boarding passes via its smartphone application. The airline claimed this shift would create "a much-improved customer experience for the last remaining passengers still using paper."
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary had attempted to reassure travellers in comments to The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder last week. "If you lose your phone, no issue. As long as you've checked in before you get to the airport, we'll reissue a paper boarding pass at the airport free of charge," O'Leary stated.
The airline executive also addressed battery concerns, noting that staff would have passenger sequence numbers available at boarding gates if phones ran out of power. However, he emphasised that online check-in before airport arrival remained mandatory under their system.
Portugal's firm stance represents a significant challenge to Ryanair's digital transformation plans and highlights ongoing tensions between airline efficiency measures and passenger protection regulations across European air travel markets.
