Ryanair has today (18 August) issued a warning that it will refuse boarding to passengers travelling with boarding passes for its flights issued by Kiwi.com, branding them as “fake.”
In a statement, the carrier said it would “regrettably” refuse boarding to anyone with a boarding pass issued by OTA Kiwi.com as “they have not complied with Ryanair’s safety and security protocols during check-in.”
It urges passengers to retrieve their boarding pass via the Ryanair website or app.
The announcement is the latest salvo in the ongoing fight between Ryanair and online travel agents like Kiwi.com, Lastminute.com, Opodo and others who engage in so-called ‘screenscraper’ activity to book Ryanair flights for their customers.
Ryanair’s Director of Marketing, Dara Brady, said: “We became aware of these fake boarding passes when a small number of passengers who booked their flights through Kiwi.com arrived at the boarding gate without official Ryanair Boarding Passes last week.
“It is an obligation under EU regulations that an airline informs passengers directly of all safety and security policies regarding their flight, Kiwi.com are circumventing this by checking passengers in and replacing the Ryanair Boarding Pass with a fake Boarding Pass issued by Kiwi.com.”
