Ryanair warns passengers against using Kiwi.com’s ‘fake boarding passes’
Ryanair has issued a stark warning to summer holidaymakers against using “fake” boarding passes issued to them by online travel agent Kiwi.com.
Passengers that attempt to board using the forms issued by Kiwi will be denied boarding, Ryanair said, adding more uncertainty to a chaotic summer of travel.
Kiwi.com responded to the threat saying the airline was stifling competition and the practice of cancelling holidays over the matter was “cruel”
The budget carrier today said Kiwi.com circumvents current aviation regulations by issuing its own boarding cards to passengers that book through it but they’re not valid on Ryanair flights.
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.
“Any passenger presenting a Kiwi.com Boarding Pass will be refused boarding on Ryanair flights. If you made a booking through Kiwi.com we urge you to contact Kiwi.com to obtain the necessary Ryanair booking reference and email address so that you can complete check-in in line with our safety and security protocol”.
A kiwi.com spokesperson responded by calling the actions “petty”.
“There is no such ‘fake’ boarding pass – Kiwi.com complies with all the requirements to ensure safe travel for our customers and have done so for years. As well as providing customers with the Ryanair boarding pass we have also placed it on a Kiwi.com branded background – all the information is the same, just the colours are different.
“Threatening not to board customers is petty and an evil Ryanair practice to try and stifle customer choice”.
They added: “The real reason for this action is because Kiwi.com often sells Ryanair tickets cheaper than Ryanair and they don’t like it. Ryanair’s behaviour is nothing short of cruel by putting profit ahead of consumer choice. We will do everything in our power to support our customers through this despicable behaviour from Ryanair who are punishing travellers just because they don’t like competition.”