Europe’s largest low fares airline Ryanair confirmed that travellers will have to pay a £10 charge when booking a return flight as it moves to phase out check in desks.

From 20 May passengers booking an online will have to print their own tickets paying £5 for each flight. This move will mean travellers will no longer benefit from the free booking service.

Customers forgetting their tickets will have to pay a whopping £40 for a ‘boarding card reissue’ on arrival at their designated airport.

This new policy will replace the practice of offering free online ticketing and charging £10 for those opting for a face to face check in.

Passport holders from outside the European Economic Area were barred under the old policy from checking in via the website, where under the new policy everyone will be treated the same.

Dublin based Ryanair said the exception will be on tickets offered at fee included prices of £5 or less.

The airline hopes to close check in desks at 146 airports by 1 October. Ryanair said it will keep staffing desks to collect passengers checked in bags as well as a potential income from travellers arriving without their tickets printed out.

Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said:

“Passengers travelling without checked in bags have already embraced our online check-in service and the extension of this service to all passengers, including those with hold luggage and those travelling with infants will allow all passengers to forever avoid check-in queues. This will also allow Ryanair to lower our airport and handling costs and pass these savings to all passengers in the form of even lower air fares next winter.

“Ryanair’s web check-in service allows passenger to check-in from 15 days to 4 hours before, and print, or re-print, their boarding card up to 40 minutes prior to their scheduled departure time. Web check-in can be accessed via ryanair.com using booking confirmation numbers or flight details”.