Reader David had a paid ticket and a boarding pass, printed online. He had paid all the necessary fees. He was at the airport and passed through security well in advance of the boarding time. And yet, Ryanair wouldn’t let David and his wife onto the plane. Why not? Because they hadn’t visited a Ryanair “visa check” desk. Huh?
Until earlier this year, Ryanair passengers with non-EU passports were unable to check-in online at all. Since Ryanair charges a higher fee for checking in at an airport, this meant a higher expense for citizens of non-European nations (and some European nations). So when Ryanair “upgraded” their systems to permit, say, Americans to check in online and print their boarding passes, most people were pleased. But there was fine print. Fine print which several travelers haven’t taken seriously until it’s too late.
The boarding pass, when printed, included text that read: “Important for all non EU/EEA passengers this boarding pass must be checked and stamped at the document/visa check desk before going through security or travel will be refused.” And that’s what happened to David. (Read his whole post for the full story.)
Here’s a shot of his boarding pass. (Click through to see the whole document.)
This boilerplate language is replicated if you read the details of the Ryanair terms and conditions.
What’s a visa check? It’s Ryanair’s requirement that the non-EU passenger check in — again — at a staffed desk to have their passport (and visa, where applicable) reviewed. So, if you’ve checked in on line to avoid standing in line at the airport, you get to do it again, anyway.
Yes, airlines need to make sure that passengers flying internationally are actually permitted to enter the destination country. The airline would be on the hook for the return airfare if the passenger were denied entry. But why does Ryanair have to manage it this way, unlike any other carrier?
As an aside: How Ryanair will square this with their upcoming policy of not having check-in desks at all, I don’t know.
There are going to be people who argue that the customer needs to read the contractual language and take responsibility for what they purchased. Yes, yes, yes. But there are two problems here: 1) The language isn’t clear that this is a Ryanair visa check, rather than an official, governmental security/passport check. 2) No other airline that I’m aware of requires a secondary check if they permit the printing of web boarding passes.
Take, for example, fellow Irish airline Aer Lingus:
Aer Lingus says it does not have such a requirement. “For those passengers who check in online, passports are checked either at the bag-tag desk or bag-drop machine or at the boarding gate,” a spokeswoman said.
Or at the gate. How much… simpler. But no, Ryanair can’t be bothered to run a “visa check” at the gate. It’s almost as if they’re just trying to collect fares from people without actually transporting them.
I think we have our explanation.
The bottom line: If you’re not an EU citizen, and you opt for Ryanair, despite everything you’ve been told, you’ll still need to show up early at the airport, stand in line, and have your passport checked before going through security.
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August 6th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Twitter Comment
RT @upgradetravel New post: Don’t let Ryanair’s “visa check” prevent you from flying [link to post]
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August 7th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Twitter Comment
Don’t let Ryanair’s “visa check” prevent you from flying [link to post]
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August 7th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I have been reading about RyanAir here for years now, and what I don’t understand is why the hell would anyone want to fly this airline? What is next – cryofreezing people, putting them in boxes and stacking them in a plane?!
The airline industry sucks with the exception of a few stars. I would like to hear from someone who regularly flies this inhumane airline!
mp/m
August 7th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Every time I read about RyanAir I wonder how much money people could possibly be saving to allow themselves to be treated this way?
August 7th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Via e-mail, a reader writes: “I’m no fan of Ryanair but give ‘em a break. The fine print says what it says. Read it or tough luck it’s as simple as that!”
I knew I’d get responses like this, and yes, people should read the fine print. But…
There is a problem when an airline has practices that are out of the norm. There are commonly accepted standards, and a mandatory pre-security visa check after online check-in isn’t one of them. I would argue that the fine print is insufficient communication of a unique policy.
If Ryanair doesn’t scream at you during the purchase process that this new procedure is required, and only slips it only the boarding pass, or in the ultra-fine-print T&Cs, then that’s not enough.
I printed an American Airlines boarding pass just yesterday afternoon. I didn’t read it at all (though I noticed that it was full of ads.) I’ve gotten complacent, perhaps, but I doubt I’m alone in assuming that the boarding pass is just that — a boarding pass — and not a list of duties and responsibilities.
This could all be fixed if gate staff were empowered to run the visa check. I’ve had boarding passes reprinted on international travel, due to a document check. But it was done at the gate desk. The fact that Ryanair doesn’t follow the norm and do visa checks at the gate is arbitrary and punitive.
Failing their changing of the policy, I’d throw into the mix that the airport administration should be more proactive, and ID checkers at security should consider alerting passengers with non-EU passports that their boarding passes aren’t stamped.
Yes, we should all read fine print. But companies shouldn’t put up unnecessary hurdles to getting what we paid for.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Does Ryanair charge for this “service”? If so, how much? If not, why not? They seem to be missing an opportunity.
For the life of me, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to fly on that airline.
August 8th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Another passenger unfriendly policy by Ryanair – what a surprise.
I do take issue with the wording on the boarding pass. The phrase “non EU/EEA passengers” does not clearly state they are referring to nationality of passengers (although there is some implication by the later reference to visas). If I wasn’t reading it carefully I’d take it to not apply to me if I was flying to or from an EU/EEA destination.
August 8th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Not only is “non EU/EEA passengers” unclear (citizenship? destination?), there are a lot of people who don’t know what “EEA” even means. Including me, and I consider myself reasonably well traveled.
“European Economic Area.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area
I didn’t realize the concept of a European economic area was still relevant after 1992. Learned something new!
Amusing: Norway is in the EEA, except for the Svalbard archipelago, which, while part of Norway, isn’t in the EEA. I don’t suppose Ryanair flies there?
August 8th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I flew Ryanair in June. The Visa Check was a Ryanair employee looking at my passport and my boiarding pass and stamping my boarding pass.
Not a major deal but considering I had already checked in, and that Ryanair doesn’t have airport check in anymore, I had to search for the “Visa Check” desk.
On the other hand, their rules about weight and size limits for cabin baggage are a bit of a farce.
Their gate personnel were more concerned about how many bags you had; you’re allowed only one, your purse, shopping or whatever must be in your one bag, size or weight were never questioned.
For the cost of my flight, I wasn’t going to complain. I paid 1£ each way plus fees and taxes (14£ all together) It still would have been easier with a bigger bag. Gotta put the souvenirs somewhere.
And as others have stated, you have to read the rules and regulations.
August 10th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Twitter Comment
Don’t let Ryanair’s visa check trip you up [link to post]
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August 17th, 2009 at 10:36 am
I just flew swiss from Zurich – New york, they set up this stand at the gate just to check that all US visas were valid!
August 17th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
[...] Don't let Ryanair's "visa check" prevent you from flying. [Upgrade: Travel Better] [...]
September 14th, 2009 at 5:34 am
As a non EU/EA resident I have always gone to the visa check desk (a less than 30 second job) then happily past security. As someone who always makes use of these dirt cheap fares I am willing to trade off with the visa check requirement.
The alternative is for Ryan air to charge a one off fee to store your visa /permit on their booking system