Ryanair passengers share their fury over change to boarding passes that 'forces people to pay for seats'
Ryanair appears to have made 'stealth' changes to the way boarding passes are issued, in a move that sparked fury amongst air passengers.
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Only passengers who pay extra to pick a seat will be able to download a mobile boarding pass or print one at home.
People who refuse to pay for a seat and instead allow to have one allocated on check-in will have to queue up at the airport to be issued with a boarding pass.
Charges for a reserved seat range from £4.50-£15.50.
Ryanair yesterday denied passengers will be made to pay to download boarding passes.
"All Ryanair passengers can pay for a reserved seat if they so wish or if passengers wish to avoid this seat fee, they can select a randomly allocated seat entirely free of charge," a Ryanair spokesperson said.
Passengers took to social media to complain that if they chose the option of a randomly allocated seat they were told they would have to queue to pick up a paper boarding pass at the airport.
One angry passenger wrote: “"When and why did you start this carry on? I now have to QUEUE to collect my boarding pass at the airport?"
Another said: “Another passenger said: "I just can't believe your new policy of not allowing passengers to create a boarding pass (mobile or print-out) unless they buy a seat, forcing them to join a check-in queue (30m or longer) to do so for no other reason for you to make a few quid. Scandalous."
Neil Buckley said: “The app said if I opted for a free random seat I'd have to go to check-in to get a paper boarding pass, which I've never seen before.
"If you wanted a digital boarding pass, it said you had to pay for a reserved seat. I was really annoyed that I had to pay to avoid the inconvenience of queueing at check-in.”
Passengers who have been issued a boarding pass but lost it, or do not have a phone, are already charged £20 by Ryanair to have it printed at the airport. If a passenger fails to check-in at home, they must pay £55 at the airport.
Passengers have complained the move effectively forces them to pay for a seat, or face the inconvenience of having to queue at the airport.