Ryanair will close its airport check-in and bag-drop desks 60 minutes before departure from Tuesday, November 10, tightening the current 40-minute deadline. The change applies to all passengers checking in a suitcase, even those who have already checked in online.
For a flight scheduled to leave at 10am, the bag-drop cut-off will move from 9.20am to 9am. Ryanair carried 206.5 million passengers in the 2025 calendar year, meaning millions could be affected by the earlier deadline.
Travel expert warns on timing
Travel expert Arber Abdullahu, from TripSIM, has urged holidaymakers to check their airport arrangements before setting off, particularly if they have booked a transfer. He warned that having a boarding pass on a phone does not mean a checked bag has been accepted or that passengers can arrive at the desk whenever they like.
"Checking in online can make you feel that everything is sorted. But if you’re taking a suitcase that needs to go in the hold, you still have a separate deadline to meet at the airport," he said.
Getting to the airport and reaching the correct desk are not necessarily the same thing, as travellers may need to park, take a shuttle, find their terminal and queue. Anyone relying on a transfer that arrives shortly before the cut-off should review the timings rather than treating the deadline as their target arrival time.
Return journeys also affected
The change could also catch people out on their return journey if they are away when the new rule begins. Someone flying out before November 10 but returning on or after that date should check the deadline for both legs and make sure their hotel pick-up leaves enough time to reach the airport.
"Don’t assume the routine that worked on your outbound flight will work for your return. Check your hotel pick-up time and tell the transfer provider which flight you are taking," Mr Abdullahu said.
Ryanair says the earlier cut-off is intended to give passengers more time to get through airport security and passport-control queues before reaching their departure gate. The airline says around 20 per cent of its passengers check in a bag, while those who check in online and travel without checked luggage will be unaffected by the bag-drop change.
Passengers should remember that online check-in has a separate deadline and remains open until two hours before departure. Anyone using airport check-in or bag drop should check the latest instructions for their flight and allow enough time to complete each stage of the journey.
