Paper boarding passes may soon be something of the past. Recently, Tony Douglas, the CEO of Saudi Arabian airline startup Riyadh Air
, remarked that the airline will not be offering printable boarding passes as an option. In fact, Douglas believes that paper boarding passes will be gone in three to five years. In reality, this is not a radical statement, as most airlines these days are swapping from paper to digital technology as the most commonly utilized form of boarding pass.
The airlines see digital as the way of the future and claim that, among many things, mobile boarding passes increase efficiency and reduce waste. Maybe Tony Douglas is correct, but there are some who argue that paper passes may still be a necessary option for a number of the traveling public, while others simply prefer paper to digital. In this article we take a look at the past, present, and future of airline boarding passes.

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A brief history of airline boarding passes
The airline boarding card has changed in form over the decades. As new technology developed and as greater numbers of people were introduced to the benefits of air travel, more efficient methods of ticketing and distinctive styles of boarding passes were introduced.
Many Simple Flying
readers may remember an era when someone would often need to go to the airport to purchase and obtain their printed ticket. On the day of travel, a person would check in with this ticket at the airline’s desk and in return be handed a boarding pass for the flight. Though still a method utilized around the world, it has become increasingly less utilized.
As time passed, newer methods were introduced, and physical paper boarding passes have become less common. The internet introduced the world to the ease of online ticketing, quickly followed by online check-in. Tickets printed from a home computer and mobile boarding passes soon became the norm. Here is a brief history of airline boarding passes beginning in the 1950s when air travel really began to increase:
- 1950s – a paper ticket jacket was handed to the passenger with their name, flight number, and destination written on the outside of the ticket jacket.
- 1960s – airlines began to utilize sticky tabs representing the passengers’ seat assignment. These tabs were stuck to the ticket jacket once a passenger checked in. As time developed, the first separate boarding cards were introduced.
- 1970s – the first computer printed boarding passes began to appear.
- 1980s – magnetic strips were added to tickets which allowed all the ticket information to be stored on the actual ticket. Additionally, the ticket and boarding pass were printed on one card with a perforation separating the two.
- 1990s – bar codes replaced magnetic strips. Eventually, the IATA issued a standard for barcodes. 2D codes were introduced to allow for additional security and encryption features. In the late 1990s, the first online ticketing and check-in options were introduced.
- 2000s – by the mid-2000s, the first mobile boarding passes were introduced.
- 2020s – more air travelers utilize mobile boarding passes than printable boarding passes with the trend continuing to increase towards digital technology.
Mobile boarding passes
A mobile boarding pass is a digital form that can be stored and accessed on a smartphone, tablet, or even a smartwatch. It contains a scannable QR code that is scanned at the boarding gate before a passenger is allowed to continue onto the plane. Mobile boarding passes are supposed to be more secure than traditional paper passes as they can keep the passenger’s personal information away from prying eyes.
Photo: pmvfoto | Shutterstock
Riyadh Air is not the only airline to talk about eliminating paper boarding passes in favor of mobile boarding passes. Ryanair
aims to disuse paper passes in 2025. In May of 2023, Emirates
began requiring most passengers departing Dubai to use a mobile boarding pass instead of a printed paper version.
In the United States, Alaska Airlines
no longer provides passengers the option to print a paper boarding pass at check-in kiosks, though it can be printed at a check-in counter for those travelers unable to utilize a mobile boarding pass.
Taking a screenshot of one’s mobile boarding pass will be helpful in the case of technical errors or loss of connectivity. However, this photo should never be shared with anyone else or on social media as it can expose a travelers’ personal information and make them vulnerable to hackers.
On a recent domestic flight with American Airlines
, it was observed that the majority of passengers utilized a mobile boarding pass instead of the traditional paper passes. This seems to be a common trend in air travel today, though most airlines still offer a printable pass for those who desire a paper boarding pass, or for those travelers who do not have a smartphone or device capable of mobile boarding pass technology.

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Pros of mobile boarding passes
There are several benefits to utilizing mobile boarding passes, not the least of which saves the use of paper and eliminates some waste. However, that is not the only reason why most airlines and many customers are utilizing this digital technology. A few additional benefits of utilizing mobile boarding passes are listed below:
- Customers can download the pass directly to their device and proceed directly to security and the boarding gate. There is no need to stop at a kiosk or the desk to print a boarding pass.
- If changes are made to a travelers’ itinerary, they are updated on the boarding pass immediately. There is rarely a need to print out a new pass as was necessary in the past.
- Mobile boarding passes are more secure at keeping a passenger’s personal information safely away from prying eyes.
- It’s less likely for a customer to leave their boarding pass on an airplane or lose their mobile boarding pass during connections.
- It helps airlines reduce their costs and increase scalability by reducing the need to print paper passes for every single passenger.
Cons of mobile boarding passes
The most severe issue found with mobile boarding passes is that they can be easily duplicated through screenshots or photographs. If not properly verified with a passenger’s ID, it is possible for someone to gain access to the secure area of the terminal and illegally board a flight. This has the potential to create a critical security issue.
With regard to passenger convenience and traveling efficiency, there are not many cons to mobile boarding passes. Stafanie Waldek of Travel + Leisure magazine still encourages passengers to print their boarding passes, noting that even if a passenger utilizes a mobile boarding pass, there may still be some issues to overcome.
“There’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to deciding which type of boarding pass is right for you — both work just fine. But when it comes to air travel, we like to play it safe, which is why we recommend printing out your boarding pass, too.”
Photo: Pit Stock | Shutterstock
Here are some potential issues a passenger may encounter with mobile boarding passes:
- Depending on the length of the trip, the battery life on a passenger’s mobile device may be very low or dead when a passenger is making connections to the next flight.
- Sometimes, when connecting on international flights in some countries, passengers may need to present a paper boarding pass to customs officials.
- Sometimes a dead spot in the area of the gate can make it difficult for a passenger to download or open their latest mobile boarding pass.
- The app may time out just as a passenger reaches the security screening checkpoint or the boarding gate. Though not a major issue, it has the potential to add time to the process.
- Some passengers, such as unaccompanied minors, or parents traveling with infants may still require physical boarding passes to be printed.
Overall, the benefits of mobile boarding passes outweigh the cons. There may be some issues, but most of them can be handled by traveling with a power bank (where allowed), taking a screenshot of the boarding pass, or saving it to one’s digital wallet.
For those passengers concerned about issues with mobile boarding passes, most airlines still make it possible to print a boarding pass at ticket kiosks in the airport. It never hurts to print a backup.

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The future
Tony Douglas expressed that Riyadh Air would not utilize paper boarding passes, but also stated that mobile boarding passes will disappear as more airlines embrace biometric scanning. This is a viewpoint that is shared by many in the airline industry. Emirates noted that some registered passengers may already utilize biometrics machines in Dubai that enable a smooth transition through airport connections. Sherry Stein, head of technology for the Americas at SITA stated:
“Our vision of the future is one in which passengers can glide through airports using their face as their boarding pass, with the ability to travel from anywhere to everywhere without ever needing to show their travel documents.”
Photo: British Airways
A sentimental journey
Digital technology is the way of the future and promises to make air travel seamless and smooth. As such, paper boarding passes may soon be relegated to the past. However, for many travelers, going paperless is a sad transition away from a time when boarding passes were a tangible token of life’s adventures. Indeed, many people have kept their boarding passes as mementos of special trips, keepsakes from family vacations, and reminders of monumental achievements.
In some ways, this resonates in the same way that some folks express their preference for paper books over eBooks. In a world that is increasingly digital, many people still prefer that which is material, tangible, and does not vanish away so rapidly. Nonetheless, if Tony Douglas is correct, paper boarding passes will be gone in three to five years.
Photo: Sorbis | Shutterstock