Ryanair passengers who intend to check in luggage will need to arrive at the airport earlier starting from 10 November. Europe's largest budget airline has announced that check-in and bag drop services at all its airports will close one hour before the scheduled departure time, extending the current deadline of 40 minutes.
Reason for the Change
The carrier stated that the adjustment is intended to give passengers more time to navigate airport security and passport control queues. This measure aims to reduce the number of travellers who miss their flights due to being delayed in these queues. The change comes after the implementation of the EU entry-exit system at all Schengen area borders on 10 April, which has caused some passengers on easyJet and Ryanair to miss flights because they could not clear passport control in time.
Impact on Passengers
Ryanair noted that only one in five passengers currently checks in a bag. The airline's chief marketing officer, Dara Brady, explained: “From Tuesday 10 November, 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 per cent 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.” He added, “The 80 per cent 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.”
Self-Service Kiosks
Ryanair is installing self-service kiosks at over 95 per cent of its airports before October. The Independent has asked the airline whether it will open check-in desks earlier as a result of the move. Historically, when Ryanair began flying jet aircraft between the UK and Ireland, its check-in deadline was just 20 minutes.
