In an age where we are conscious of conserving paper in order to minimise the harm done to the environment, I do not understand why we continue to have boarding passes, which are so big in size. These are relics of an era when the boarding pass was used to enclose a paper ticket.

In international airlines, the larger portion is retained by the airline at the point of entry into the aircraft and the smaller portion is given to the traveller.

In India, the paper ticket is not attached to the boarding pass at any time during the boarding process. Why then do airlines not reduce the size of the boarding pass itself, saving tonnes of paper, energy and time in the process?
 
Sameer Nagarajan
samnag@rediffmail.com