Boarding passes: digital, paper and a working backup

Check the required format

Ryanair’s normal process has used digital boarding passes in its app since 12 November 2025. Check in online on its website or app, then follow the instructions for your departure. Do not assume a self-printed copy replaces the app pass. Wizz Air offers mobile and paper formats, but some airports do not support mobile passes; its instructions then require retrieving the booking and printing the card.

Prepare before leaving

• Complete check-in within the window for your booking; there is no universal 24-hour opening.
• Open the issued pass and check the passenger, flight and date. After a flight change, obtain the new pass.
• If the airline offers an offline app or wallet option, save it and test access. Keep the phone charged.
• Print only when required or accepted for your flight. Keep required original travel documents separately accessible.

No connection is different from no battery

A saved image may be accessible without a connection while the phone still works, but it cannot help when the phone has no power. Nor does a readable barcode prove that a screenshot is an accepted boarding credential. Follow the carrier’s supported format, and open the current pass before joining the queue. Check airport displays for the current gate rather than relying on an old image.

If the pass is missing or invalid

Ryanair says that a passenger already checked in online whose phone or tablet dies before security receives a boarding pass at the airport free of charge. This is different from arriving without having checked in online, which can incur an airport check-in fee. Do not generalize the free replacement to every airline or situation.

Wizz allows a lost card to be downloaded again from the booking. If it says “NOT A BOARDING CARD” or “INVALID”, Wizz instructs the passenger to attend its check-in desk three hours before departure for document verification; that specific validation has no additional fee. Follow any required document check even with cabin baggage only.

Baggage is a separate check

Confirm the cabin allowance from your booking and operating carrier. A boarding pass does not by itself settle every size, weight or fare condition.

Check bag size · Compare flight allowances