Ryanair will bar passengers carrying boarding passes issued by re-seller Kiwi.com from its flights, the airline warned on Wednesday.
The airline accused Kiwi, which sells Ryanair flights on its website, of circumventing EU safety rules by issuing its own boarding cards, which are not valid on the Irish carrier’s flights.
“From today [August 18th] any Ryanair passenger with a boarding pass issued by Kiwi.com will regrettably be refused boarding as they have not complied with Ryanair’s safety and security protocols during check-in,” said the airline.
Ryanair added that customers who wanted its official boarding pass could get one by accessing their booking on its website or its app.
The company urged travellers to book flights directly and avoid using third-party agents such as Kiwi, which it said were not authorised to sell Ryanair flights or issue boarding passes.
Dara Brady, Ryanair's director of marketing, said EU regulations obliged Ryanair to inform passengers directly of all safety and security policies on its flights.
“Kiwi.com are circumventing this by checking passengers in and replacing the Ryanair boarding pass with a fake boarding pass issued by Kiwi.com,” he claimed.
A Kiwi.com spokeswoman responded that there was no such thing as a “fake” boarding pass, saying the company complied with all requirements to ensure safe travel for customers.
She noted that the company provided passengers with the Ryanair boarding pass on a Kiwi-branded background.
Choice
The spokeswoman accused Ryanair of bidding to stifle customer choice and putting profit before consumers.
“The real reason for this action is because Kiwi.com often sells Ryanair tickets cheaper than Ryanair and they don’t like it,” she said.
Ryanair said it introduced a verified seal on its boarding passes this year to “further protect” customers from online travel agents, which it said may be overcharging customers.
The airline added that a Czechia court this year ordered Kiwi to stop providing it with fake customer email addresses and preventing the carrier from communicating directly with its passengers.
Ryanair frequently takes court actions against online agents that resell its flights.
