Ryanair announces passengers will have to check-in online as airport desks will be gone by May

CEO Michael O’Leary has said he aims to have check-in desks gone in the next six months.

Ryanair has announced that passengers will have to check-in for flights using its online app from May, as ticket desks will be eliminated.

Currently, customers are strongly encouraged to check-in for their flight online, as those who don’t are slapped with a €55 charge at the airport. However, CEO Michael O’Leary has said he aims to have check-in desks gone in the next six months.

This means any passenger who doesn’t own a smartphone will be unable to board a Ryanair flight. Speaking at a press conference in Dublin today, the Ryanair boss said: “We will get rid of ticket desks and then there's no reason to charge people for airport check-in.

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“We want to get rid of airport checks in the same way we got rid of bag [desks]. We are working towards from May 1 that everything will be done on the app, nothing will be done on paper anymore.

“It will probably be around April or May of next year, after Easter. I think from May next year it will be 100% the app.” Mr O’Leary said he is reluctant himself to change the airline's system so that all bookings and check-ins will have to be done on the Ryanair app.

However, he said it would eliminate the number of workers needed in the airport and help keep airfare prices low. He added: “I have been reluctant to go on the app because I am terrified to get on a flight without a piece of paper, but it works so well. [The app] tells you your gate and if there is a delay.

“The customers who want the piece of paper are the same demographic that when we first moved over to the internet they wouldn’t move over but were then the first ones to switch to the internet for cheaper airfares.”

Mr O’Leary said currently 60% of passengers are using the app, and he expects this to rise to 80% by the end of the year. By May, customers will have no other choice but to use it.

If someone’s phone goes out of battery while at the airport, the Ryanair CEO said there are already procedures in place if this happens. He said: “If your battery dies we have your seat and your passport and we can do that at the boarding gates at the moment.

“We sometimes do that if someone's phone doesn’t scan for some reason. Once we have the name and passport that's fine but everyone will be on the app.” Mr O’Leary recently called for a two-alcoholic drink cap at the airport, as he said the airline has seen a “significant rise” of disruptive passengers.

He said: “When flights run late there are people in the bars sculling the pints, so we asked for a two-drink cap- you show your boarding pass and it’s stamped. We need to bring it back a little bit on the amount of drinking, I personally am fond of a drink but I don’t know why bars in airports are open at 7am, the normal pubs can’t open until 11am or 12am."

The Ryanair boss said he would be happy to also limit passengers to two drinks on-board his flights, saying he isn’t worried about losing revenue. He added: “Would it cost us money? Not much. Our average flight time is 1 hour and 15 minutes, very few people buy and consume two alcoholic drinks in that time.

“And if they are misbehaving on our flights our cabin crew don’t serve them anyway.”

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