Ryanair is facing a significant challenge to its controversial new digital-only boarding pass policy, with Portugal's civil aviation authority directly intervening to protect passengers.
Portugal Takes a Stand
The conflict emerged after Ryanair banned printed boarding passes for nearly all flights on November 12, 2025. The move prompted immediate backlash from travellers and consumer groups, with some calling for a boycott of the Irish carrier.
Portugal's National Civil Aviation Authority has now pushed back, instructing the airline to accept printed passes regardless of its new policy. The authority also demanded that reissue fees be waived and sought assurance that no passenger would be left behind if their phone battery died.
Growing Opposition to Digital-Only Policy
The Portuguese intervention represents the third exception to Ryanair's paperless rule. Albania has insisted passengers can use paper passes until March 2026, while Morocco maintains its own paper pass policy, forcing Ryanair to make concessions for flights to the African country.
Consumer groups have strongly criticised the digital shift. Dennis Reed from campaign group Silver Voices described it as the 'digital revolution gone bonkers', while Age UK warned about excluding the 4.3 million older people who don't use smartphones.
Ryanair's Response and Alternatives
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has sought to ease concerns, telling The Independent's travel podcast that alternatives exist for passengers facing technical issues.
'If you lose your phone, no issue. As long as you've checked in before you got to the airport, we'll reissue a paper boarding pass at the airport free of charge,' O'Leary stated. He added that if a phone battery dies, staff can still access passenger details at the boarding gate using sequence numbers.
The airline claims between 85 and 90% of its 200 million annual customers already check in digitally before arriving at airports. However, the policy change means all passengers must now check in before reaching the airport to secure their boarding pass through the Ryanair app.
Portugal's aviation body has made it clear that passengers with confirmed reservations who have checked in cannot be prevented from boarding, even without a digital pass, setting up a potential regulatory clash with the budget airline.
