Airline travel is taking a major step in becoming more digitalized. Starting today, Emirates will require most of its passengers departing Dubai International Airport to use mobile boarding passes instead of printed ones.
“This initiative will significantly reduce paper waste while simultaneously offering a convenient and speedy digitized check-in experience for passengers departing Dubai,” the company said in a release. “It reduces the risk of lost or misplaced boarding passes, giving passengers peace of mind when traveling.”
Emirates passengers who check in in-person at the airline’s hub at Dubai’s Terminal 3 will now receive a mobile boarding pass either by email or text instead of a paper pass. Those who use online check in will be able to access their passes via the Emirates app, with the option to load them into either Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Additionally, checked baggage receipts, traditionally printed and handed to the passenger upon dropping off luggage, will also pop up on the app, or be sent via email.
At every step where a boarding pass may be required, whether it’s going through security clearance, boarding the plane, or even shopping in Dubai Duty Free, the mobile pass will be accepted, as agents will simply scan the QR code.
The move is meant to be a “a step forward in its drive to offer customers the convenience and assurance of digitally enabled travel journeys,” the airline added.
Of course, the bold move does bring forth the concern of numerous digital hiccups, all of which Emirates is sympathetic to. Whether your phone runs out of battery, you can’t connect to Wi-Fi, there are issues with accessing a phone network or international data package, there’s a delay with the pass being delivered, or there’s a system glitch, then there’s always the option to ask a Emirates agent to print out a physical pass.
The airline is also cognizant of the fact that there will be situations where printed boarding passes will be needed from the start—with one of the biggest exceptions being for all passengers traveling on flights to the U.S. Others who can opt for paper passes are those with onward flights on other carriers, as well as those with special situations, like passengers traveling with infants, children traveling alone, and anyone who requires special assistance.
“Millions of Emirates passengers have already been enjoying the convenience of digitally-enabled journeys,” the company said, adding that it’s not just about a more streamlined way of managing travel itineraries, but that there are additional features that can be accessed on the app, like getting a preview of in-flight dining menus and curating playlists of on-board entertainment, including movies, TV shows, and music.
Although digital boarding passes have been offered and used by savvy travelers for years, they have recently become the preferred option for the majority of fliers around the world. Other airlines are eliminating opportunities for paper boarding passes, too. Just last month, Alaska Airlines announced that it was getting rid of check-in kiosks at five of its main terminals because the majority of passengers complete the services offered at the kiosks on their own phones.
Emirates, too, has started offering a new modernized check-in service. In late April, the airline opened a “city check-in and travel store” in Dubai’s financial district that allows passengers to complete every step of the check-in process, including dropping off their luggage, without visiting the airport. The new concept was developed in order to help passengers “avoid busy periods at the airport and minimize queuing,” Emirates’ COO Adel al Redha said in a statement. It also features the world’s first robot check-in assistant, which matches faces with scanned passports.
And as airlines continue to roll out similar technologies for efficient travel—like TSA readers that scan passengers’ faces instead of their boarding pass and biometric boarding at the airline gate—even mobile boarding passes may soon become a relic of the past.
