Many airlines globally are deploying touch screen technology to check-in its passengers more efficiently.

A traveller can check themself in, including their baggage, and print out their tickets all without the need of airport staff. Instead, it can all be done via a ticketing kiosk.

And this is exactly what celebrity Lily Allen should have known, before she forked out money to print off important documentation.

The “Smile” singer, who recently announced that she is expecting a baby on her wedding day to partner Sam Cooper, tweeted her upset and wrath online after an altercation with Ryanair.

The 26 year-old was left disgruntled when she was forced to hand over £40 to print off a boarding pass ahead of her flight to Dublin, in Ireland last week.

She furiously sent a message on the social networking site Twitter, saying: “Ryan Air have just charged me 40 quid to print out my boarding pass. Unbelievable.”

“Oh, and now they’ve taken it off of me. 40 pounds for a piece of paper that was mine for approx. 7 mins, wow….”

Many self-service units are deployed at airports so the passenger can print off their documentation beforehand. In some kiosks there are additional fees and extra charges but not to the extent of £40. The technology has been proven to improve customer satisfaction and better queuing times.

Frontier Airlines claims that almost 70% of its passenger check-ins nowadays take place at a kiosk or online. The functions like the printer enable holidaymakers to print off the receipt which is hugely beneficial for those who do not have a printer at home. The touch screen interface also helps customers allocate their own seat selections. Furthermore, the kiosks reduce labour costs and streamline the process for passengers.

In the General Conditions section of the airline website, it states that there is a £40 or 40 euro ‘Airport Boarding Card Re-issue Fee’.

The English recording artist- turned-designer was travelling to Ireland to launch her Lucy In Disguise collection with her sister Sarah Owen.

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Troubled American video rental firm Blockbuster Inc. may have more competition than previously thought of. The well-known movie rental and retail firm has faced intense competition over the last three years, battling video rental kiosks for control of the home entertainment market.

With two rental kiosk services expanding into America’s Deep South, the retail movie rental firms may finally end up losing their position. Revenues have been down for two years at Blockbuster, with competing companies closing branches and entering bankruptcy as the year has progressed.

Of course, movie rentals certainly aren’t the only area in which self-service kiosks are succeeding. The travel industry has cut spending, and often staff quotas, by installing self-service check-in units at airports and railway stations across the world. Kiosks are also popular in retail, helping large chain stores and independent businesses improve customer service and boost returns.

With a greater number of businesses experimenting with alternative customer service and sales strategies, it seems inevitable that kiosks will become more common in the marketplace. Retail experiments have been largely positive, both for businesses and their customers, indicating that self-service and customer-driven shopping is here to stay.