Ryanair has confirmed a 20-minute check-in change for all flights from November 2026. The budget airline is increasing the amount of time passengers have to clear airport security and passport queues by 20 minutes, aiming to reduce the number of customers who miss their flights. Under current rules, Ryanair check-in and bag drop desks close 40 minutes before scheduled departure, but from November 10 this will change to 60 minutes, giving passengers an extra 20-minute window.
Impact on Passengers
Ryanair stated that most passengers will be unaffected by this change, as around 80% check in online before arriving at the airport and proceed directly to their departure gate. Only about 20% of Ryanair customers check in bags at the airport, with the majority opting for a cabin bag or traveling without luggage. The extra 20 minutes will give these passengers more time to get through security and passport queues before boarding starts.
Reason for the Change
The change follows the introduction of Europe’s Entry Exit System (EES) on April 10, which requires non-EU citizens to register biometric data at the external borders of 29 European countries in the Schengen area. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said that while British travellers do not need to take any action before arriving at the border on entry to the Schengen area, passengers are warned to prepare to wait “longer than usual” and to allow more time for immigration controls.
Additional Improvements
Ryanair has also announced plans to install more self-service bag-drop kiosks to speed up the check-in process, with more than 95% of airports due to have these in place by October. The airline said the self-service kiosks are fully integrated with the Ryanair app to enable passengers to check in bags and print luggage tags, helping to speed up bag-drop and reduce waiting times.
Official Statement
Announcing the upcoming changes earlier this year, Ryanair CMO Dara Brady said: “From Tues 10 Nov, Ryanair customers will see airport check-in and bag drops close 60 minutes before scheduled departure, instead of today’s 40 minutes. This will allow these 20% of our customers (who check in a bag) more time to clear through airport security and passport queues, and get to their departure gate on-time, especially during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer. We are also installing self-service kiosks at over 95% of Ryanair airports before October. This means a quicker bag-drop service, less queuing at airport desks, and an even more punctual service for the 20% of our customers who still wish to check-in a bag, while the 80% (who don’t check-in a bag) will be unaffected by this small 20 minute change, as they will continue to check-in online before they arrive at the departure airport and they go straight through airport security to their departure gate.”
