QR Code Boarding Pass

A QR code boarding pass (mobile boarding pass) is an electronic boarding pass issued through airline apps or web check-in. Simply scanning the QR code displayed on a smartphone screen at security checkpoints and boarding gates allows passage.

It eliminates the need to print paper boarding passes and saves time waiting at check-in counters. The QR code stores the flight number, seat number, and passenger name in the format defined by IATA's BCBP standard, and can be saved to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet for offline use. What it holds is unencrypted text laid out in a fixed format, so any general-purpose reader can decode it: posting a photo that shows a boarding pass on social media can expose the record locator (PNR) and frequent flyer number, details that have been used to view and alter other people's bookings. Throwing away a paper boarding pass intact carries the same risk. On printed boarding passes, PDF417 is the default symbology, while mobile boarding passes may use Aztec, DataMatrix, or QR code, with IATA stating no preference among the three; the 2021 implementation guide (version 7) extended the standard to allow those three on printed passes as well. Because each airline picks its own symbology, the pattern shown on screen is not always a QR code.