Millions of passengers face travel chaos as Ryanair introduce major new rule

The policy will come into force next month

Europe's largest airline is set to go completely digital from 12 November and require all passengers to use digital boarding passes.

This means that the budget airline will only be accepting passes issued through the airline's myRyanair app.

The change is set to save time and look after the environment too, reportedly saving "approximately 300 tonnes of paper" and "eliminate airport check-in fees and allow passengers to get direct notifications on flights.”

While the positives of this initiative are clear, there are of course some drawbacks which will mostly affect the older population.

Many people still rely on printed documents when travelling, preferring its physical form and permanence whereas devices can always be broken or run out of battery.

Alicia Hempsted, travel expert at MoneySuperMarket, said the rule change could prove problematic for some passengers.

“While in some senses this is great news when it comes to cutting down on unnecessary waste and avoiding check-in fees, having a strict no boarding card policy means travellers need to be prepared to go digital,” she told MailOnline.

“If you're used to printing off your boarding pass, make sure you've downloaded the Ryanair app and followed the steps to download your digital pass, or you could face delays when you get to the airport.”

Ryanair’s outspoken CEO Michael O’Leary has unsurprisingly defended the move.

He said earlier this year: “At the moment, between 85 and 90 per cent of passengers show up with smartphones.

“Almost 100 per cent of passengers have smartphones, and we want to move everybody onto that smartphone technology.”

The CEO also refuted claims that the new change would discriminate against older people.

He said: “I’m old, and I travel with Ryanair on a very, very regular basis, and I use the Ryanair app, it is pretty simple, pretty easy to use.”

Speaking about older people not being able to adapt to new technology, O'Leary described the prejudice as a "myth".

He sadi: “Actually, what you find is the old people firstly just get their kids or grandkids to make bookings for them, and then pretty quickly they’re adopting it themselves.

“And it is slightly patronising, this notion that old people can’t and won’t move to mobile technology or to the apps.”