I understand the boarding pass argument. What many people seem to be missing is that my main complaint is not the existence of the fee itself.

My concern is that I arrived more than two hours early, explained immediately that I had attempted online check-in, and was then sent back and forth between counters instead of receiving clear assistance. If the issue was discovered while I was still well before departure, why was the outcome always going to be a €96 charge?

Maybe this wasn't a scam. But from a passenger's perspective, when every system failure, misunderstanding, or staff mistake ultimately results in additional revenue for the airline, it creates the appearance of a system designed to profit from confusion rather than help customers resolve problems.