The days of paper airline tickets are over..

The paper airline ticket comes to the end of its life on Sunday when 240 carriers of the IATA switch to digital tickets.

IATA members account for 94 per cent of world airline traffic and by the end of February, 94 per cent of them had already abandoned the rectangle of stiff paper in favour of digital technology.

In Africa, 87 per cent of IATA airlines had made the switch.

The last paper tickets will be sold on Saturday, and the International Air Transport Association estimates that its member airlines will save $US3 billion a year, a much needed economy in the face of a huge rise in fuel costs.

Paper tickets issued before the deadline will still be valid for the travel dates indicated on them.

The issue and handling of a paper ticket costs an airline $US10: its electronic replacement $US1 dollar on average.

IATA also calculates that the end of the paper ticket will save 50,000 trees per year.

Source: cjreport

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