Lost your boarding pass: how to find your booking and get on the flight
You have a couple of hours before departure, and the booking email has vanished somewhere. The panic is understandable, but there is no need to rush. Losing a plane ticket today is almost impossible, because paper tickets no longer exist.
Airlines fully switched to electronic tickets on June 1, 2008 (as of: IATA press release). Flight information is stored in the carrier's database, not on a piece of paper in your pocket.
So there is nothing to restore. You just need to regain access to your booking and get a new boarding pass. The e-ticket lives in the airline's system as a record (Navan). The only thing you can lose is a printout, and it is easy to replace.
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What to do if your ticket is lost
💡 In short:
- Open the airline's app or website, go to "My booking," and enter the booking code along with your last name.
- Download the itinerary receipt again or save the mobile boarding pass to Wallet.
- No booking code? Call the carrier or contact the agency where you bought the flight.
First, figure out which document actually went missing. The e-ticket is stored only in the airline's database, so you cannot physically lose it.
The itinerary receipt contains the route, flight number, and payment amount. The boarding pass is issued after check-in, and that is what they check at the gate along with your passport.
Passengers often confuse these papers and panic for no reason. The desk agent finds the booking by last name and flight number if you have your passport. After that, all that remains is to get a replacement for the lost document.
Step 1: find the booking by code
Start by looking for the booking code. This is the booking reference, a short combination of Latin letters and numbers that the carrier assigns to each order and includes in the booking confirmation.
The code is in the confirmation email and in the seller's account. Check the spam folder and search for the word "booking." The email often comes from an address you never added to your contacts.
Did you buy the flight through an agency? Then request the code from them. The carrier sees the booking by its own internal number, which you do not know. With the code in hand, you open "My booking" and see the flight, seats, and payment status.
The system will then offer you online check-in. You will get the same boarding pass as at the original purchase, just in digital form.
AIIllustrative image: AI-generatedStep 2: print the itinerary receipt
The itinerary receipt can be reprinted as many times as you want, free of charge. Open your account, select your booking, and click "Download receipt" or "Itinerary receipt."
The receipt does not give you the right to board. It is needed by the visa center, accounting department, or customs, where they confirm the route and payment for the trip.
Keep the PDF in the cloud, not just on your phone. That way the document stays accessible even if the app gets deleted or your smartphone runs out of battery.
The website won't give you the file? Call support and ask them to email the receipt to you. It usually takes a few minutes.
Step 3: get a new boarding pass
The easiest way is to get the pass again in the airline's app. After online check-in, it appears in the "Boarding passes" section and opens even without internet (Lufthansa).
At the airport, the pass is issued in several ways: self-service kiosk, check-in desk, and mobile app. With most carriers, the kiosk prints a duplicate using your passport in under a minute. At the desk, give the flight number, and the agent will print the pass again.
From November 12, 2025, Ryanair switched to fully digital boarding passes (Ryanair). If you checked in online, reissuing is free. Check-in at the airport remains a paid service.
On some flights with other carriers, mobile passes are not accepted. In that case, a paper pass is issued by the agent at the desk.
© Jeffrey Beall from Denver, Colorado, USA · CC BY-SAPhoto: Jeffrey Beall from Denver, Colorado, USA, CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), Wikimedia CommonsHow much reissuing costs
The price depends on the carrier and whether you completed online check-in in advance or not. Fees were checked on September 15, 2026 on the airlines' official pages.
What you do | Cost | Condition |
|---|---|---|
Print the itinerary receipt | free | your account |
Print the pass at a kiosk | free | check-in completed |
Check in at the airport with Ryanair | paid fee | missed online check-in |
Reopen the mobile pass | free | carrier's app |
The amounts are set by the airline itself and change over time. Check the fare on the official website before departure, not on a forum.
Old paper tickets with paid duplicates disappeared along with paper. Today, an extra fee is only charged for check-in at the airport.
How not to lose your ticket again
The most reliable approach is not to rely on paper and memory. Save the booking code in your phone notes and forward the airline email to yourself in a messenger.
Add the boarding pass to Wallet right after check-in. It opens without a network and does not depend on your email app.
Take a screenshot of the booking and put it in the cloud. That way you can check the flight number and terminal at any time, even if the carrier's website is down.
Arrive at the airport with time to spare. If you do end up late, the steps are different: what to do if you missed your flight.
⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions
Can I restore a paper plane ticket?
No, paper tickets have been discontinued (according to IATA), more details at the beginning of the article. You do not need papers, you need access to the booking by code and last name.
Where do I find the booking code if the email is deleted?
Check the seller's account and the spam folder. If nothing turns up, call the carrier or agency and give your last name, date, and route: they will find the booking using that information.
What should I do if I lost my boarding pass at the airport?
Go to a self-service kiosk and scan your passport. Another option: the check-in desk, where an agent will reprint the pass by flight number. If you completed online check-in in advance, reissuing is free with most carriers.
How much does reissuing a boarding pass cost?
Reissuing a boarding pass is usually free if you checked in online. With Ryanair, only those who missed online check-in and check in at the airport pay. Check the exact fee on the carrier's official website: amounts vary and change by season.
Will they let me board without a printed ticket?
Yes, you do not need to print the e-ticket. At the gate you need a boarding pass and a passport. The pass is accepted on your phone screen if the flight supports mobile passes. Where mobile passes do not work, one will be issued at the desk.
In short: what is worth booking
Losing your boarding pass does not cancel your flight. Restore access to the booking using the steps above, and you will board without extra costs.
If your departure is in a couple of days, first confirm the booking by code. If the flight is already purchased but you have no receipt, download it from your account. If you are flying with a connection, save the pass to Wallet.
Booking a new flight is easy on Kiwi.com, and before the trip you can compare insurance options.
If your flight was canceled or delayed for a long time, check your right to compensation.
A small editorial team writing guides for independent travel. We travel ourselves, but we haven’t been everywhere, so we check prices, opening hours and how to get there against official sources.