For those who like to collect paper boarding passes, things will be a little difficult with Emirates, as they choose to go very digital for boarding passes at their Dubai hub.
You’ll be going digital at Dubai International in most cases soon – Image, Emirates.
Emirates will require most passengers departing Dubai to use a mobile boarding pass instead of a printed paper version, from 15 May onwards.
Passengers checking in at Terminal 3 will receive their mobile boarding pass via email or SMS. Passengers who check in online can load their boarding pass into their Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, or retrieve their boarding pass on the Emirates App. The checked-in baggage receipt is also emailed directly to passengers, or available in the Emirates App.
Emirates argues this will reduce paper waste while offering a convenient and speedy digitised check-in experience for passengers departing Dubai. It reduces the risk of lost or misplaced boarding passes, giving passengers peace of mind when travelling.
The mobile boarding pass then will replace the paper one for all parts of the passenger journey – be it in Dubai Duty-free, security and boarding.
So you want a paper boarding pass (or in some cases – need one).
There are cases where a paper boarding pass will be required. These include
- When travelling with infants
- Unaccompanied minors
- Passengers requiring special assistance
- Passengers with onward flights on other airlines
- All passengers travelling on flights to the US.
Outside those cases, options will exist to print a boarding pass, as Emirates does recognise that some travellers do not have a mobile device to access the Internet and use their app.
Shocking I know.
Other reasons that a pass can be printed include:
- Running out of battery on your device (because it will happen at some point)
- Phone Breakdown (because a phone always misbehaves when you need it to work most)
- Message Delivery Delay (if the message or system relays aren’t working, you’re going nowhere fast).
- Inability to access Wi-Fi or a data package (because not everyone wants to connect to a Wi-Fi network, or wants to pay out for a data package when roaming).
The option to use paper has to be visible – and available.
Many of us travel with smartphones, be they fruit-themed, droid-themed, or somewhere in between, which allow for richer experiences.
However, some people choose not to be connected this way – and that is fine.
The choice to go all-digital is a wonderful road some will happily embrace – and for reasons – others will not. Again that is fine.
The option to use a paper boarding pass will therefore have to exist – if the airline’s digital team likes it or not, otherwise, you risk excluding parts of your travelling public.
And that’s one thing that airlines cannot afford to do – both from a business and legal perspective.
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